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