In Nine Elms Cemetery, Thelus, Pas de Calais, France, is the Commonwealth War Grave of 199072 Private William Burdes serving with the 5th Battalion Canadian Infantry who died 09/04/1917.
The son of Edward and Mary Jane Burdes, of Sunderland, England.
In Southwick Holy Trinity Churchyard is a family headstone which reads:
In loving memory of
Edward Burdes
who died May 4th 1912 aged 74 years
Also Mary Jane his wife
who died December 29th 1917 aged 82 years.
Also Pte. William Burdes 5th Canadian Inf. Batt
fifth son of the above
who was killed in action in France April 9th 1917 aged 44 years.
Servant of God, well done, well hast thou fought.
Jean Longstaff has submitted the following:-
Born in Southwick, Sunderland on 16th October 1874 William was the second youngest child of farmer Edward Burdes and his wife Mary Jane. His two older brothers Thomas and James emigrated to Canada in 1890 leaving just William and John at home in Canon Cockin Street, Bishopwearmouth with their parents. By 1901 they had moved to South View Cottage, Southwick where William trained as a butcher and eventually in 1906, he too travelled to Canada, sailing from Glasgow to Montreal on the SS Numidian with the intention of remaining in the same trade.
By 1916, after the death of his brother James in a logging accident in British Columbia, William was working as a teamster and living in Dryden, Ontario. On 8th March he went into the local recruiting office and enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and came out as Private 199072 of the 94th Battalion.
William arrived in England on board the SS Olympic on 6th July 1916 and was immediately transferred to the 32nd Battalion based at Shorncliffe, Kent. January 1917 saw him transferred to the 15th Reserve Battalion based at the camp at East Sandling, and four weeks later he was transferred again, this time to join the 5th Battalion in France, where on 9th April 1917 Private Burdes was killed in action at Ypres.
His two war medals and memorial plaque were despatched to his mother, living in St. Georges Terrace, Roker in 1922.
William Burdes is remembered at Southwick on S130.22, at Sunderland in S140.48 Part 9 page 200 and in Peter Gibson’s book.
He is remembered in Canada on their Virtual War Memorial.
