On the Chatham Naval Memorial is the name of 2985T Stoker William Burdiss, serving on H.M.S. Aboukir with the Royal Naval Reserve who died 22/09/1914.

The son of Martin and Mary J. Burdiss, of South Shields and the husband of Katherine Burdiss, of 13, Chaytor Street, Jarrow, Co. Durham.

Colin Boyd has provided the following:

William joined the Royal Naval Reserve on 14th April 1909 when he was employed as a furnaceman at Palmer’s Ironworks in Jarrow. He was described as being 5 feet 8 inches tall with fair hair and grey eyes.

He was born on 30th May 1887 to Martin and Mary Jane Burdiss and when he enrolled he was living at 8, Nixon Street Back, Jarrow.

By the time of the 1911 Census he was living with his wife Catherine and his 8 month old son William Edward at 13, Chaytor Street, Jarrow.

William was called up on 17th August 1914 and was posted to HMS Aboukir, ship number 108151, torpedoed by U-9 commanded by Kapitanleutnant Otto Weddigen on the 22nd September 1914.  At the time that his pension was granted he had the following dependants:

• Catherine, wife, born 24th August 1886, married 24th August 1907.
• Martin, son, born 22nd February 1908.
• William Edward, son, born 10th August 1910.
• Mary Jane, daughter, born 30th October 1912.
• James Aboukir, son, born (posthumously) 31st January 1915.

The Jarrow Express 25/09/1914 reports:-
NORTH SEA NAVAL DISASTER.
Jarrow Men Misting.
Among the men reported missing from the cruisers Cressey and Aboukir which were torpedoed and sunk by German submarines in the North Sea, are Walter Murray, stoker, of the Cressey residing at Union Street Jarrow and William Burdiss of the cruiser Aboukir stoker residing at 13 Chaytor Street. Both men were naval reservists and had gone for their annual training just before the war broke out.

William Burdiss is remembered at Jarrow on J2.01 and J2.10, and in our List of Ships’ Crews.