Burnett, EFD
(1886 - 1916)
Key Facts
DATE OF BIRTH:
27th October 1886
YEARS ATTENDED THE COLLEGE:
1898 - 1904
HOME ADDRESS WHEN AT THE COLLEGE:
Camperdown, London Road, Forest Hill
REGIMENT
29th (Vancouver) Battalion, Canadian Infantry
FINAL RANK:
Sergeant
DATE OF DEATH:
12th September 1916
AGE AT DEATH:
29
WHERE HE DIED (or was wounded)
Somme
LOCATION OF GRAVE OR MEMORIAL:
Vimy Memorial
Sergeant Eric Frederick Duncan Burnett
Born on October 27th 1886, Eric was the second child of banker Frederick Burnett and his wife Ellen. After spending six years at the College he went on to attend Crystal Palace Engineering School, and from there progressed to Canada, where he worked for seven years as a surveyor in British Columbia.
He was still out in Canada when War was declared, signing up as a member of the Army whilst still there, and coming to Europe with the second Canadian Contingent in the spring of 1915. Eric spent the winter of 1915 in the trenches near Ypres, during which time he was promoted to Sergeant, before sustaining a wound in early 1916 which necessitated a spell in Wimereux Hospital. He subsequently returned to the trenches, and was serving on the Somme when killed by an exploding shell on September 12th 1916.
