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AFTER seeing a portrait of a World War I digger on his friend’s wall, Vietnam veteran Ken Ball decided to investigate the young soldier’s story. What he found was quite amazing. He told the story to XANA BITTAR.
KEN Ball has done many good deeds in his life.
He spent six years in the army — one-and-a-half years of those fighting in Vietnam in the mid-1960s.
Memories of any solider’s time at war are hard to look back on. Mr Ball understands the emotional distress it can cause and says no veteran likes talking about themselves, but they do like hearing others’ stories.
Going back a few months, Mr Ball was at David Burton’s home, a friend who also lives near Nyah.
He noticed a dated framed photo hung up on the wall of a solider who had several medals.
Mr Burton said he didn’t know much about the photo, other than that it was his great uncle Alexander Burton, who fought in World War I, died at 22 and that the photo was found in his shed.
“Veterans don’t usually like speaking about themselves, but like hearing other people’s stories…”
Mr Ball became curious and was eager to find out the history of this man in the photo, especially considering the picture showed the man with a Victoria Cross.
“I guess my interest was piqued because I was a Vietnam veteran and also because of my involvement with the Woorinen RSL sub-branch as secretary and treasurer,” Mr Ball said.
“Veterans don’t usually like speaking about themselves, but like hearing other people’s stories.”
With this in mind, Mr Ball went home to search Alexander Burton’s history.
“I only got one page worth of information,” he said.
He then went and sought the help of others and found service records and other information.
“I thought I would get a replica of his medals and give them to [David Burton],” he said.
“He received three service medals, plus the Victoria Cross, which 64 people were awarded in the First World War.
“He was killed at 22. He didn’t think of his own safety, completely thinking of his mates…”
“It is a shock what a hero he was, someone at his age.”
Mr Ball said his kind gesture was simply to honour the “hero Alexander was”.
“He was killed at 22. He didn’t think of his own safety, completely thinking of his mates,” Mr Ball said.
Getting in contact with the Swan Hill and District Veterans Information Centre in search of more on Alexander, Mr Ball was provided a “stack” of information.
“I was astounded at the amount of information they could find,” he said.
“I am so appreciative of their help.”
Mr Ball has spent the last few weeks sorting through the information and writing a piece about Alexander which he plans to read out at today’s dawn service at Nyah West.
“It might be a bit emotional,” he said.
“It will be an honour to his family, they’ll get to know a bit about him.
“It is fairly exciting, more exciting to speak about this young man. I feel he is an exception, a true young Australian showing heroism.”
CORPORAL ALEXANDER STEWART BURTON, VC, 7th Battalion.
Alexander Burton was one of three Australian soldiers awarded the Victoria Cross for one particular action during the fighting at Lone Pine, although his was the only posthumous award.
Born in Kyneton, Victoria, in 1893, Burton was working as an ironmonger when war broke out. He joined the AIF and was posted to the 7th Battalion. Although he missed the landing at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, he watched it from the deck of a hospital ship, where he was being treated for a throat infection.
A week later he was in the trenches. In the early hours of August 9 at Lone Pine, the Turks launched a strong counter-attack on a newly captured trench held by Burton, Lieutenant Frederick Tubb, Corporal William Dunstan, and others.
The Turks advanced up a sap and blew in the sandbag barricade but Burton, Tubb, and Dunstan rebuilt it. The enemy twice more destroyed the barricade but each time was driven off and the barricade rebuilt.
Burton was killed by a bomb while he was building up the parapet.
He has no known grave, but his name is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli, and by an oak tree and bridge at Euroa, Victoria.
Pick up a copy of Friday’s special Anzac Day 2014 commemorative edition of The Guardian.
