"PTE E. F. BURCH WOUNDED AT RIMINI A veteran of the Italian campaign & a former member of the 22nd NZ Infantry Battalion, Private Ernest Frederick Burch, passed away at the Cook Hospital this morning after several months of suffering which followed his wounding in the battle of Rimini. North Italy. Private Burch was the son of Mr & Mrs B Burch, Tamarau, and went abroad with the 10th N Z Expeditionary Force in 1943. He received multiple wounds from the explosion of a mortar bomb at Rimini, & was returned to N Z in a fairly serious condition. Since his return in August last he has been an in-patient of the Cook Hospital, & latterly his condition had shown a progressive decline. The deceased was a station manager before entering the army, & managed the Mangaotane property for the East Coast Commission. He was a single man, & had two sisters. Mrs. T. F. Pepper. Tongariro, & Miss D. Burch, Wellington. The burial will take place at the Taruheru cemetery to-morrow, following a service at Cochrane’s chapel at 3 p.m. Former comrades of the deceased are to assemble at the Army Hall at 2.30 p.m. to arrange for pallbearers & transportation to the cemetery. [Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21870, 14 November 1945, Page 6]
“That night a patrol from 7 Platoon to Via Ventrata did not contact the enemy—so far so good—& early on the 17th [October, 1944] the company moved forward & took up positions along the road. Orders came to attack the enemy paratroopers, who were in a position round casas about 400 yards ahead. 6 & 7 Platoons got their objective, but 8 Platoon was pinned down by spandau fire. The tanks, which were called up, drew awkward fire from heavy guns & blasted unsuccessfully at the spandaus. Under cover of the tanks firing, a withdrawal was made to a deep ditch, wide at the top but narrow at the bottom. Here they were pinned down by mortar fire, then hit by a mortar bomb which wounded Laurie Duffy, Ernie Burch (in fifteen places), and three others.
Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 29 April 2023 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/ernest-frederick-burch