Leslie Burke MSM (SN 223) born at Allendale, was a 20 year old butcher when he enlisted in Ballarat on May 29th 1915. Assigned to the 6th Field Ambulance, he embarked from Melbourne aboard the Afric on June 25th and in late August he came ashore at Gallipoli. After Gallipoli he served in France from March 1916 reaching the rank of lance sergeant. In the final months of the war he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, his citation reading ‘Under all conditions, whether favourable or adverse, this N.C.O. is invariably cheerful and anxious to do everything in his power for the greater comfort of the men. He is always at great pains to get the best use out of, and make the greatest variety from, the available ration issue, and all reports made from time to time by official cookhouse inspectors upon the state of the cookhouses under his control have been of the very best. In active operations and especially during the period 7th August, 1918, to 7th October, 1918, the difficulty of providing hot food for personnel and wounded in forward ambulance posts has been very great and the fact that the supply has never failed is entirely due to the energy and excellent management of this N.C.O.' He returned to Australia aboard the Kashmir, disembarked at Melbourne on April 30th 1919 and was discharged on September 19th ‘medically unfit, hernia’. He also enlisted to serve during WW2 with service number VX29874.