Royal Canadian Legion Branch 192 in Arundel held a ceremony on Sunday, November 9 to honour veterans, including those from Lost River and Lakeview.
According to Gilbert Young of Vankleek Hill, Richard Burns of Lakeview was a veteran in World War One and the brother of his grandmother, Emily Burns MacTavish. Burns was Young’s great uncle and the great-grand uncle of Neilson MacTavish. His name appears on the Arundel cenotaph as a casualty. On the same line is the name, Paul Brunelle, of Lost River who was killed in action in World War Two. His name is also listed on the cenotaph. Wreaths were laid in memory of both Private Burns and Private Brunelle.
Richard Burns was born January 30, 1887, on a small farm in Lakeview. He was the second child of Henry Burns, an Irish immigrant, and Mary MacMillan, born in Eastern Ontario. His siblings were Ellen Burns, Mary Burns, Elizabeth Burns Champagne of Arundel), Rose Burns Loudon of Montréal, Emily Burns MacTavish of Harrington, and William Burns.
On November 1, 1917, Private Burns was drafted under the Military Service Act of 1917. Following basic training in Western Ontario, he arrived in England on June 21, 1918. While clearing the town of Marchipont in Northeast France on November 5, 1918, he suffered gunshot wounds to the chest which severed his spine. He succumbed to his wounds in Bevan Military Hospital, Sandgate, England, on February 5, 1919, at 11:15 a.m.
