LEST WE FORGET
Lieutenant Ernest Wilfred BURTON
Service No: 128
Born: Epsom, New Zealand, December 1892
Enlisted in the Army: 18 August 1914
Unit: Training Depot, Australian Flying Corps attached to No. 1 School of Aeronautics RAF
Died: Injuries from an Aircraft Accident, Scotland, 4 April 1918, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Sleepyhillock Cemetery, Montrose, Scotland
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Ernest William and Ellen Burton, of Auckland, New Zealand
Place of Association: Sydney NSW (location of residence on enlistment)
Remembered: Panel 188, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 4 April 1918, Lieutenant Burton was killed in an aircraft accident at Montrose. His aircraft, Sopwith Camel B.7529, collided in the air with Sopwith Camel B.7338 flown by Second Lieutenant Arthur Arnold Payne RAF and both crashed out of control. The Court of Enquiry determined that the accident was caused by the misjudgment of one or both of the pilots. Second Lieutenant Payne was also killed.
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record B2455, BURTON E W