Oliver Burns name can be seen at the top of a memorial to the members of the Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry who died at the Battle of Paardeberg during the Boer War. FILE PHOTOS

There are 19 names on the Cenotaph in Navan. Six of the men whose names are carved in the granite died during the Second World War. Twelve others died during the First World War. But the first name on the Cenotaph didn’t pass away in either of the great wars.

Oliver Burns died in the Boer War which was fought in South Africa between troops from the British Empire and members of the Dutch-speaking republics of South Africa and the Orange Free State from 1899 and 1902.

Ollie Burns, as he was known to his family and friends, was the third child of John Lewis Burns and Jane Ann Hand. He was born on the family farm at 3007 Trim Rd. on Jan. 11, 1877.

When the Boer War started on Oct. 11, 1899, Burns was working as a machinist. He was also a volunteer with the Ottawa and Carleton Rifles Militia, which today would be comparable to the Army Reserves.

After the fighting began, the Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry started a recruitment campaign across English-speaking Canada, including Ottawa. Burns was one of the first Canadians to answer the call, enlisting with the service just four days after the recruiting campaign began, along with 865 other young Canadians, almost all of whom were members of various standing militias.

Within sixteen days of the declaration of war, the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry (2RCRI) had been formed, equipped and dispatched by steamship from Québec City to Cape Town.

The 866 volunteer members of the battal-ion were augmented by 43 members of the permanent force, including officers.

The 2nd Battalion RCRI represents Canada’s first overseas engagement in a major war and it wouldn’t take long for the battalion to enter the fray.

After arriving in South Africa, the hastily formed battalion went through two months of vigorous training.

Burns and his comrades were eventually called into action in mid-February when they joined Britain’s 19th Brigade in an offensive to try and retake Pretoria. Their first engagement with Boer forces came on Feb. 18, 1900 at a place called Paardeberg.
In the battle that followed, 2RCRU suffered 78 casualties including 18 dead. Ollie Burns was among those who were killed.

The British and Canadians eventually won the battle when the Boer forces consisting
of more than 4,000 men, surrendered on Feb. 27 after nine days of fighting.

The dead, including Burns, were buried on the battlefield and a cairn honouring the 18 Canadians who made the ultimate sacrifice was erected on the site some years later.
In 1902, a second monument with the names of the 16 Ottawa-area men who died in the war was erected in what is now Confederation Park. It was paid for with funds raised entirely by Ottawa schoolchildren.

The Canadian government’s decision not to expatriate the remains of the men who died in the Battle of Paardeberg became a major bone of contention for the Burns family. John Burns even wrote an impassioned letter to the Minister of Defence asking that the remains of the fallen Canadians be brought home including the remains of his son.

After Ollie was killed, John and Jane moved to Cumberland Village with the youngest of his siblings. The farm on Trim Road was eventually brought back into the family when by Ollie’s brother Martin bought it. The farm was later handed down to Martin’s son Robert “Bob” Burns, who still lives there today.

A number of Navan’s sons followed in the footsteps of Oliver Burns, serving in both the First and Second World Wars, including his brother Martin who served in the First World War. Many. like Ollie, never made it back home.

Their names are etched on the Cenotaph as well and they too shall be remembered this Monday, Nov. 11.