William Burns - WW1
Posted: 03 Apr 2009 23:05
I wonder if anyone can give me any help finding a bit more about this Great War soldier:
William Burns, Private 2250/330419
According to his attestation form, William was born in Kirkdale, Liverpool and enlisted into the 9th Battalion of the King’s Liverpool Regiment, in Liverpool, on 6th August, 1914, two days after the outbreak of the First World War. He gave his occupation as a labourer at that time.
He gave his age as 34 years and 8 months on enlistment, but this may not have been accurate. As will be seen later, he may have knocked 10 years off his real age in order to enlist.
His medical form describes him as 5 feet 8½ inches tall, 35-37inch chest, of good physical development and with good vision.
He had previous service in the Royal Engineers (at Mason Street, Liverpool), serving in 1908 on the formation of the Territorial Force. It is not known how long he served for.
On 12th March, 1915 the 1/9th King’s Liverpool Regiment were deployed to France and Pte William Burns was one of the men in this original deployment of the battalion to the Western Front.
On 7th April, 1916 he was due back with his unit after a period of home leave and he failed to return. Perhaps he believed he had ‘done his bit’ by serving in France for two and a half years, or maybe the strain of his experiences was too much for him and he couldn’t face going back to the horrors of the war – we will probably never know. He was apprehended in Liverpool, in uniform, on 27th April by the police. He was returned to his unit where he was awarded 28 days Field Punishment No.1. before returning to France to rejoin his unit.
He returned to the UK in November, 1917 and on 19th December, he was handed an envelope and told to report to the 7th (Reserve) Battalion, King’s Liverpool Regiment, based at Oswestry. Did William Burns know that the documents were the only notification that his new Commanding Officer was to receive about the posting of Burns to the unit? Perhaps he did, but it is possible that he simply did what he had done in 1916 and returned to Liverpool instead of reporting for duty. He did not arrive at Oswestry and neither did the package of documents he carried. The absence of the documents meant that the Officer Commanding the 7th (Reserve) Battalion did not receive any notification of William’s transfer so his absence was not noticed.
It was only when he was apprehended by the police in Liverpool on 13th April the following year that his absence was noted.
William Burns was tried, found guilty and awarded 84 days detention in a military prison. He was subsequently granted 14 days remission of this sentence.
On 24th February, 1919 William Burns was discharged from 309 Coy. Royal Army Service Corps at St. Albans, being “no longer physically fit for War Service”. His address on discharge was given as 44, Shallcross Street, Liverpool, the home of his nephew, John Duke.
He was awarded a pension on account of his disability which was decribed on his pension papers as “myalgia”. His age on discharge was given as 49 and he was single.
What else can I learn about William Burns?
When was he really born, 1880 as his enlistment papers suggest, or 1870 as his discharge papers tell us? William Burns is not an uncommon name, so this might not be easy.
Any suggestions would be gratefully accepted.
Ken
William Burns, Private 2250/330419
According to his attestation form, William was born in Kirkdale, Liverpool and enlisted into the 9th Battalion of the King’s Liverpool Regiment, in Liverpool, on 6th August, 1914, two days after the outbreak of the First World War. He gave his occupation as a labourer at that time.
He gave his age as 34 years and 8 months on enlistment, but this may not have been accurate. As will be seen later, he may have knocked 10 years off his real age in order to enlist.
His medical form describes him as 5 feet 8½ inches tall, 35-37inch chest, of good physical development and with good vision.
He had previous service in the Royal Engineers (at Mason Street, Liverpool), serving in 1908 on the formation of the Territorial Force. It is not known how long he served for.
On 12th March, 1915 the 1/9th King’s Liverpool Regiment were deployed to France and Pte William Burns was one of the men in this original deployment of the battalion to the Western Front.
On 7th April, 1916 he was due back with his unit after a period of home leave and he failed to return. Perhaps he believed he had ‘done his bit’ by serving in France for two and a half years, or maybe the strain of his experiences was too much for him and he couldn’t face going back to the horrors of the war – we will probably never know. He was apprehended in Liverpool, in uniform, on 27th April by the police. He was returned to his unit where he was awarded 28 days Field Punishment No.1. before returning to France to rejoin his unit.
He returned to the UK in November, 1917 and on 19th December, he was handed an envelope and told to report to the 7th (Reserve) Battalion, King’s Liverpool Regiment, based at Oswestry. Did William Burns know that the documents were the only notification that his new Commanding Officer was to receive about the posting of Burns to the unit? Perhaps he did, but it is possible that he simply did what he had done in 1916 and returned to Liverpool instead of reporting for duty. He did not arrive at Oswestry and neither did the package of documents he carried. The absence of the documents meant that the Officer Commanding the 7th (Reserve) Battalion did not receive any notification of William’s transfer so his absence was not noticed.
It was only when he was apprehended by the police in Liverpool on 13th April the following year that his absence was noted.
William Burns was tried, found guilty and awarded 84 days detention in a military prison. He was subsequently granted 14 days remission of this sentence.
On 24th February, 1919 William Burns was discharged from 309 Coy. Royal Army Service Corps at St. Albans, being “no longer physically fit for War Service”. His address on discharge was given as 44, Shallcross Street, Liverpool, the home of his nephew, John Duke.
He was awarded a pension on account of his disability which was decribed on his pension papers as “myalgia”. His age on discharge was given as 49 and he was single.
What else can I learn about William Burns?
When was he really born, 1880 as his enlistment papers suggest, or 1870 as his discharge papers tell us? William Burns is not an uncommon name, so this might not be easy.
Any suggestions would be gratefully accepted.
Ken
maybe this family is connected to your William
need to try and make a connection 
Fascinated to come upon your site and find you discussing the Duke family. I was browsing sites on Duke family history on the Isle of man and came upon your site. As far as I know the Duke family came to the Isle of Man from England around 1840ish. Anybody know anything about that??