William Henry Burns

Memorial: Thornbury - St Mary's Church

Regiment: Kings Shropshire Light Infantry

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal

Rank and number: Private 14673

Parents: William Albert and Mary Burns

Marital status: Married

Home address: 1 Horseshoe Lane, Pullins Green, Thornbury, Bristol

Pre-war occupation: Dentist

Date of birth: 1891

Place of birth: Bristol

Date of death: 25/07/1916

Buried/Commemorated at: Thiepval Memorial (Pier and Face 12 A and 12 D.), France

Age: 25

Further information:

Bronze Tablet and Wooden Memorial Board

William Henry Burns was the second son of William Albert Burns, a Bristol postman who had at least ten children. In 1911 William Henry was still living at home in Bristol, and was employed as a conductor on the motor buses travelling between Filton and Thornbury. In 1913 he married Ella Pegler of Charfield. William and Ella had three boys, Francis William Pegler who was born in Thornbury in 1912 before the couple were married, Walter whose birth was registered in the Pontypridd district in 1914 and Mervyn Albert Thomas, who was born in Thornbury in July 1915. Just before the war broke out William was working as a dentist in Wales although, according to one of his son’s school records, he was unqualified

He was living in Tonypandy, Glamorgan, and enlisted in Caerphilly in September 1914. After a period of training he was sent to France. William was Killed in Action serving with the 7th Battalion as a stretcher bearer, during the Somme offensive. He has no known grave

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

Thornbury Roots Website, Thornbury and District Museum Research Group, Forces War Records and CWGC