Lance Corporal Frederick William Burges (Burgess) KIA - 5297

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Lance Corporal 5297 Frederick William Burges from ‎François Berthout, Australia and New Zealand in WWI

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Lance Corporal Frederick William Burges (Burgess) KIA

Service Number: 5297

Frederick William Burges was born in 1892 to Frederick Ford and Edith Ford Burges in Boyton, Wiltshire, England. At the age of 18, Frederick and his parents moved to Murrumborg, Wellington, New South Wales where William worked as a farmer.

Private Burges enlisted on 16 February 1916 at the age of 23 and was assigned first to B Company, 46th Australian Infantry Battalion in Dubbo, NSW. On 18 April 1916 he was moved to A company, 14th Reinforcements of the 20th Australian Infantry Battalion at Liverpool, NSW.

Burges embarked with his unit from Sydney on transport A18, the Wiltshire, on 22 August 1916, arriving in Plymouth, England on 13 October 1916. After a brief training period, Burges sailed with his unit for France on transport Princess Henrietta on 13 December 1916, arriving at Etaples the following day. During the journey, Burges was briefly promoted to Acting Corporal before reverting to the rank of Private on 25 January 1917. He joined the 20th Infantry Battalion on 26 January 1917 and continued training at Dernancourt in France.

Burges was appointed Lance Corporal on 8 February 1917. Less than a month later on 1 March 1917 the Battalion were in the front-line trenches near Bapaume conducting a major push against German forces. The Battalion HQ were moved to an old German dug out near Butte de Warlencourt, a strategic hilled area that allied forces had fought for the year before and recently occupied by Australian forces. It was during these actions that Lance Corporal Burges suffered shot wounds to both legs and his lungs. He was admitted to the 5th Australian Field Ambulance at Contalmaison where he died of his wounds that same day. 

Lance Corporal Burges was buried at the Contalmaison Chateau Military Cemetery, in the region of Somme.

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