- See Ernest Charles Burden’s entry on the Board of Trade’s Ancestry public tree.
- This information updates the group’s previous research published on the former DTI website (now archived by the National Archives).
- Do you have any more information about Ernest Charles Burden? If so the War Memorial Research Group would love to hear from you.
Name recorded on Board of Trade Memorial: E. C. Burden
Born: 14 September 1893, Strand, London
Date of Death: 29 June 1917
Age at death: 23
Service, Regiment, Corps, etc: London Regiment
Unit, Ship, etc: 2nd (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
Enlisted: Westminster
Rank: Lance Corporal (Service No: 231673)
Decorations: British WW1 Service Medals (British War Medal and Victory Medal)
War (and theatre): WW1 (France and Flanders)
Manner of Death: Died of wounds
Family Details: Son of Joseph and Frances Burden of London
Residence: Westminster
Home Department: Board of Trade – Labour Department
Civilian Rank:
Cemetery or Memorial: St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen (P.11.1.13A); Board of Trade War Memorial; Memorial to Staff of the Ministry of Labour; Royal Fusiliers War Memorial; London Troops Memorial; Royal Fusiliers Chapel in St Sepulchre-without-Newgate;
Biography:
Ernest Charles Burden was born on 14 September 1893 and baptised at St Martin in the Fields Church on 29 January 1895. He grew up in central London. In both the 1901 and 1911 census his family are recorded living at 49 Charing Cross in Westminster, London. His father was Joseph Burden (1856-1921) and his mother was Fannie Sayer (1856-1916). His father was a bank messenger. He had an older and younger brother – Sidney Burden (1886-1962) and Harry Burden (1896-1962) and an older sister – Florence Burden (1889-1970).
We know from records that Ernest was a secondary school pupil from 13 September 1910 (aged 17) at Strand School, a prestigious boys grammar school (originally based at King’s College on the Strand) which in Ernest’s area was based at Tulse Hill, South London. The school was the foundation for many successful former pupils (including Ernest) who had distinguished careers in the Civil Service. Indeed the history of the school was closely entwinned with the civil service, since “when in 1875 the government extended the range of civil service entry examination, William Braignton had set up private classes in rooms at King’s College in the Strand for those seeking entry to the lower grades. The prestige of being associated with the university college was an added benefit”. The school became know as Strand School in 1893 and subsequently closed down in around 1979.
Ernest, is also known to have continued his studies at the University of London prior to the war and then joined the Board of Trade working in the Labour Department.
During WW1, he served as a Lance Corporal in the 2nd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) which was a long standing line infantry regiment.
Ernest’s service record does not survive and his medal card does not record when he first served overseas. It also does not list the 1914-15 Star which was only awarded to those men who served in the first part of the war. Its likely then that Ernest didn’t serve overseas until 1916. He would have undoubtedly fought during his battalion’s first major action at Gommecourt on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
During 1917, the battalion fought at the First, Second and Third Battle of the Scarpe during the Arras Offensive by British and Commonwealth forces (9 April to 16 May 1917) and it is likely that Ernest was wounded during one of these military engagements whose aim was to push German forces back north and south of the Scarpe River.
He died on active service aged 23 of his wounds on 29 June 1917 and is buried in St Sever Cemetery Extension in Rouen. This area was a behind the front lines and was a major logistics centre during WW1. It was also the location for several hospitals with eight general, five stationary, one British Red Cross and one labour hospital and the No 2 Convalescent Depot. Ernest is one of 8,348 Commonwealth servicemen burials from WW1 (of which 10 remain unidentified).
Ernest is remembered on several war memorials including two Civil Service War Memorials, on the former Strand Grammar School War Memorial (now located at Elm Court School) as well as on Royal Fusiliers War Memorial; London Troops War Memorial and Royal Fusiliers Chapel in St Sepulchre-without-Newgate.
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