Citation(s);
Military service
Burial/memorial information
Son of Charles Stuart Burness and Florence Burness of Toronto, Ontario. Husband of Jeannette H. Burness of Glenburnie, Ontario.
Digital gallery of Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
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Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
From: The Varsity Magazine Supplement published by The Students Administrative Council, University of Toronto 1916.
Submitted for the Soldiers' Tower Committee, University of Toronto, by Operation Picture Me.
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
Toronto Star "Pages of the Past" online
1941, May 6 p. 1
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
Toronto Star "Pages of the Past" online
1941, May 6 p 2
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
Toronto Star "Pages of the Past" online
1941, May 9 P4
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
He will be lost at sea in 1941 in the sinking of SS Nerissa.
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
The S.S. Nerissa was a passenger and cargo steamer of 5,583 gross tons. Built by Wm. Hamilton & Co. Ltd., Port Glasgow, she was launched in March 1926, initially for the Red Cross Line service between New York, Halifax, and St. John's, Newfoundland.
During World War II the Nerissa was used as a troop transport. She had sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia on 21 April 1941, and called at St. John’s, Newfoundland en route to the United Kingdom, sailing unescorted (i.e. not in convoy). On the night of 30 April – 1 May 1941 Nerissa was about 120 miles out from Lough Foyle, Ireland (Lat. 55-57 N., Long. 10-08 W) when she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-552 with a loss of life of 206 passengers and crew, including Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness.
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
The panel on the Halifax Memorial at Point Pleasant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada showing the inscription of Kenneth Charles Burness's name.
In the official report of the sinking of the S.S. Nerissa, in which Lieutenant Colonel Burness was killed, Major C.P. Stacey, the Historical Officer at the Canadian Military Headquarters in London, UK wrote: "The loss of Lt.-Col. Burness in particular will be a serious one. Officers who crossed with me on the 'Capetown Castle,' and who had lately been associated with him at R.M.C., KINGSTON, where he was Chief Instructor, spoke of him as being in their opinion one of the most brilliant soldiers in the Canadian service."
Image taken 1 April 2018 by Tom Tulloch.
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
The Halifax Memorial at Point Pleasant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on which Kenneth Charles Burness's name is inscribed.
Image taken 1 April 2018 by Tom Tulloch.
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
The dedication panel on the Halifax Memorial at Point Pleasant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on which Kenneth Charles Burness's name is inscribed.
Image taken 1 April 2018 by Tom Tulloch.
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
Entry for Burness summarizing his service during the First World War, from: University of Toronto Roll of Service 1914-1918, published by University of Toronto Press, 1921.
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
From the Toronto Telegram November 1918. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
From the Owen Sound Sun Times May 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
From the Leader Post Regina, Saskatchewan. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness
From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
Image gallery
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From: The Varsity Magazine Supplement published by The Students Administrative Council, University of Toronto 1916. Submitted for the Soldiers' Tower Committee, University of Toronto, by Operation Picture Me.
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Toronto Star "Pages of the Past" online 1941, May 6 p. 1
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Toronto Star "Pages of the Past" online 1941, May 6 p 2
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Toronto Star "Pages of the Past" online 1941, May 9 P4
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He will be lost at sea in 1941 in the sinking of SS Nerissa.
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The S.S. Nerissa was a passenger and cargo steamer of 5,583 gross tons. Built by Wm. Hamilton & Co. Ltd., Port Glasgow, she was launched in March 1926, initially for the Red Cross Line service between New York, Halifax, and St. John's, Newfoundland. During World War II the Nerissa was used as a troop transport. She had sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia on 21 April 1941, and called at St. John’s, Newfoundland en route to the United Kingdom, sailing unescorted (i.e. not in convoy). On the night of 30 April – 1 May 1941 Nerissa was about 120 miles out from Lough Foyle, Ireland (Lat. 55-57 N., Long. 10-08 W) when she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-552 with a loss of life of 206 passengers and crew, including Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Charles Burness.
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The panel on the Halifax Memorial at Point Pleasant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada showing the inscription of Kenneth Charles Burness's name. In the official report of the sinking of the S.S. Nerissa, in which Lieutenant Colonel Burness was killed, Major C.P. Stacey, the Historical Officer at the Canadian Military Headquarters in London, UK wrote: "The loss of Lt.-Col. Burness in particular will be a serious one. Officers who crossed with me on the 'Capetown Castle,' and who had lately been associated with him at R.M.C., KINGSTON, where he was Chief Instructor, spoke of him as being in their opinion one of the most brilliant soldiers in the Canadian service." Image taken 1 April 2018 by Tom Tulloch.
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The Halifax Memorial at Point Pleasant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on which Kenneth Charles Burness's name is inscribed. Image taken 1 April 2018 by Tom Tulloch.
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The dedication panel on the Halifax Memorial at Point Pleasant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on which Kenneth Charles Burness's name is inscribed. Image taken 1 April 2018 by Tom Tulloch.
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Entry for Burness summarizing his service during the First World War, from: University of Toronto Roll of Service 1914-1918, published by University of Toronto Press, 1921.
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From the Toronto Telegram November 1918. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
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From the Owen Sound Sun Times May 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
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From the Leader Post Regina, Saskatchewan. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
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From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 25 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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HALIFAX MEMORIAL Nova Scotia, Canada
The HALIFAX MEMORIAL in Nova Scotia's capital, erected in Point Pleasant Park, is one of the few tangible reminders of the men who died at sea. Twenty-four ships were lost by the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War and nearly 2,000 members of the RCN lost their lives.
This Memorial was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and was unveiled in November 1967 with naval ceremony by H.P. MacKeen, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, in the presence of R. Teillet, then Minister of Veterans Affairs.
The monument is a great granite Cross of Sacrifice over 12 metres high, clearly visible to all ships approaching Halifax. The cross is mounted on a large podium bearing 23 bronze panels upon which are inscribed the names of over 3,000 Canadian men and women who were buried at sea.
The dedicatory inscription, in French and English, reads as follows:
1918-1945
IN THE HONOUR OF
THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF THE NAVY
ARMY AND MERCHANT NAVY
OF CANADA
WHOSE NAMES
ARE INSCRIBED HERE
THEIR GRAVES ARE UNKNOWN
BUT THEIR MEMORY
SHALL ENDURE.
On June 19, 2003, the Government of Canada designated September 3rd of each year as a day to acknowledge the contribution of Merchant Navy Veterans.
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Poppy Design is a trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and is used with permission. Click here to learn more about the poppy.
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