Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Grave: | Philosophe British Cemetery | III. H. 23. Mazingarbe | |
| 2. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 2D GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | 1914 (Mons) Star British War Medal Victory Medal | ||
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 14th Battalion London Regiment (London Scottish) |
1/14th (County of London) Battalion (London Scottish) August 1914 : at 59 Buckingham Gate. Part of 4th London Brigade, 2nd London Division. Moved on mobilisation to Abbotts Langley. 16 September 1914 : left the Division and landed at Le Havre. Was engaged at Messines on 31 October 1914 under command of Cavalry Corps. 7 November 1914 : came under command of 1st Brigade in 1st Division. 8 February 1916 : transferred to 168th Brigade in 56th (London) Division. |
| Action : The Battle of Aubers |
Fought on 9th and 10th May 1915 and intended to support the French attacks near Arras, this battle was notable for the remarkable bravery of infantry having to cope with inadequate planning, poor artillery support and not least a very competent enemy that had learnt the lessons of Neuve Chapelle just two months before. It also highlighted the problems of quantity and quality in artillery shell supply - a symptom of the general unpreparedness of Britain to fight a major European war, and not really rectified until well into 1917. Possibly one of the least known but most heartbreaking battles of the war, fought in an attempted pincer attack around the village of Neuve Chapelle with the intention of securing the 'high' ground that dominated the approaches to Lille.
Detail :
CWGC: BURTON, WILLIAM HARRY Lance Serjeant 1420 22/05/1915 28 London Regiment (London Scottish) United Kingdom III. H. 23. PHILOSOPHE BRITISH CEMETERY, MAZINGARBE
De Ruvigny's: BURTON, WILLIAM HARRY, Sergt., No. 1420, C Coy., 1st/14th Battn. (London Scottish) The London Regt. (T.F.), s. of Herbert Burton, of North Street, Atherstone, Foreman Hatter, by his wife, Annie, dau. of William Lucas; b. Atherstone 15 March, 1887; educ. Atherstone Grammar School; joined the London Scottish 1910, and was killed in action at Vermelles, 27 May, 1915; unm. His Commanding Officer, Capt. Claud Low, wrote he "was killed by a shell at 10.15 this morning, in a trench about 2,000 yards east of Vermelles. At the moment of writing this letter your son has not been buried but I am making arrangements for this. If the shelling does not stop before nightfall it will be done then. It may interest you to know that when the shells commenced to strike in this section this morning, your son took steps to get his men into safety, and it was in doing so, in the exercise of his duty as a non-commissioned officer, that he lost his life."
Citations & Commemorations :
Also commemorated atAtherstone War Memorial
Atherstone Grammar School
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Vitruvian No. 87 E.C. | London |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
11th October 1911 | 8th November 1911 | 10th January 1912 |
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley