Alexander Stewart Burton, VC (20 January 1893 – 9 August 1915) was an Australian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Early life

Burton was born at

Kyneton Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of central Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. The town has three main streets: Mollison Street, Piper Street and High Street. Piper Street has ...

, in the state of Victoria, on 20 January 1893. His father, a grocer, moved his family to Euroa where he commenced working for a department store. After completing his schooling, Alexander joined his father at the store, working in the ironmongers section.Walsh, 1979, pp. 496–497

First World War

Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, Burton enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 18 August 1914 and posted to the

7th Battalion Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season epi ...

. He embarked with the battalion for the Middle East on 19 October 1914. On 25 April 1915, 7th Battalion landed at Gallipoli but Burton was sick and did not reach the frontlines until a week later. He was promoted to the rank of

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

on 10 July 1915 for "having volunteered and taken part in the forcing of Saphead D21 in the face of the enemy". On 9 August 1915, Burton fought in the

Battle of Lone Pine The Battle of Lone Pine (also known as the Battle of Bloody Ridge (Kanlı Sırt Muharebesi) was fought between Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) and Ottoman Empire forces during the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War, between ...

when his company reinforced newly captured Turkish trenches. Burton was one of a party of men that manned a barricade against attacking Turkish soldiers. Killed in this action, he was recommended by his battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Harold "Pompey" Elliott, for the award of the Victoria Cross (VC). Two other members of the party,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Frederick Tubb Major (rank), Major Frederick Harold Tubb, Victoria Cross, VC (28 November 1881 – 20 September 1917) was an List of Australian Victoria Cross recipients, Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face o ...

and Corporal William Dunstan, were also awarded VCs.Snelling, 1999, pp. 155–158. Burton's VC was gazetted on 15 October 1915; the citation read as follows: Burton has no known grave and is commemorated on the

Lone Pine Memorial Lone may refer to: People *Destroy Lonely, a nickname for the artist * Lone (given name), a given name (including a list of people with this name) *Lone (musician), Matt Cutler, an electronic musician from Nottingham, United Kingdom *Lone (surnam ...

.Snelling, 1999, pp. 168–169. He was subsequently

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

by General

Sir Ian Hamilton General Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, (16 January 1853 – 12 October 1947) was a senior British Army officer who had an extensive British Imperial military career in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Hamilton was twice recommended for th ...

on 28 January 1916. (Mentioned in Despatches).

The medal

In early 1916, the VC, along with a cover letter from

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

, was presented to Burton's father who later wore it for the homecoming of Frederick Tubb, who was a friend of Burton's, and had returned to Australia to convalesce from the wounds received at Lone Pine. Burton's VC remained in his family for many years but in 1967, it was donated to the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, where it is on display.

Honours and awards

Notes

References

*Walsh, G. P. 1979
'Burton, Alexander Stewart (1893–1915)'

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 7. Melbourne University Press: Melbourne. *

External links

*
Alexander Stewart BURTON
The AIF Project, www.aif.adfa.edu.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Alexander Stewart 1893 births 1915 deaths Military personnel from Victoria (state) Australian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Australian Gallipoli campaign recipients of the Victoria Cross Australian Army soldiers Australian military personnel killed in World War I People from Kyneton