William Wallace Allison Burn

William Wallace Allison Burn
Born(1891-07-17)17 July 1891
Melbourne, Australia
Died30 July 1915(1915-07-30) (aged 24)
Buried
No known grave
AllegianceNew Zealand
Service/branchNew Zealand Military Forces
Years of service1911–1915 
RankLieutenant
UnitMesopotamian Half Flight
New Zealand Staff Corps
Battles/wars
AwardsMention in Despatches (2)

William Wallace Allison Burn (17 July 1891 – 30 July 1915) was a New Zealand aviator, who served with the New Zealand Military Forces during the First World War.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Burn was educated in Christchurch, New Zealand, and joined the New Zealand Military Forces in 1912, volunteering for the New Zealand Staff Corps. In 1913 he was selected to be sent to England to receive flight training. Qualifying as a pilot the following year, he was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps soon after the outbreak of the First World War and sent to Mesopotamia to serve with the Indian Expeditionary Force (IEF) there. He flew as an observer with the Mesopotamian Half Flight, which conducted reconnaissance flights in support of the operations of the IEF on the Tigris and Euphrates. His aircraft was forced down with mechanical problems while on a flight to Basra and he and his pilot were killed by hostile Arab tribesmen. He was the first New Zealand aviator to be killed in action.