City of Burnside Active Citizen of the Year - Burnside Military History Research Group

Active Citizen of the Year – Burnside Military History Research Group

Ian Fitzgerald, Colonel Peter Scott and Ian Sando (dec).

Over the past year, the Burnside Military History Group has spent countless hours researching soldiers honoured in the Burnside District Fallen Soldiers Memorial (WWI) located in Rose Park, known as the Avenues of Honour.

This site is a part of the State Heritage List and acts as a community point of remembrance for those who lost their lives.

The Burnside Military History Group were responsible for auditing the current memorial plaques, revealing spelling errors, inaccuracies in service history details, as well as other discrepancies. To fill in the gaps in information, the group accessed primary sources such as service records and provided the City of Burnside with the accurate information. As a result, details of each soldier will be updated to include correct information on all plaques across the Memorial. The findings of the Burnside Military History Group’s research will contribute to the ongoing preservation of the Memorial and will have a lasting role in honouring the fallen in the District of Burnside.

The City of Burnside is currently using the research of the Burnside Military History Research Group to update the plaques and interpretative text along the Avenues of Honour. Updates are expected to be completed by mid-2024.

Left to right: Brett Sando (accepting on behalf of Ian Sando), Colonel Peter Scott and Ian Fitzgerald