Pte 30535 Albert Edward Burgess

• Age: 30
• From: Manchester
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 19th Btn
• K.I.A Saturday 30th March 1918
• Commemorated at: Savy Brit Cem
  Panel Ref: Roupy Rd. Mem.56

Albert Edward Burgess was born in 1887 and resided in Manchester. He was the son of George Henry and Amy Burgess (nee Beardsall) who had married in 1882 at Stowell Memorial Church, Salford.

The 1891 Census shows the family living at 4 Bent Road, Manchester. His father, George Henry, is aged 32, and employed as a cotton salesman, whilst his wife, Amy, is aged 31,  and has no occupation listed. They have four children listed in the household; Harry G. aged 8, Jenny aged 5 and Albert E. aged 3 who were all morn in Stretford. Their youngest child Thomas aged 11months was born in Barton on Irwell.

The 1901 Census shows the family living at 23 Whitby Road, Manchester. His father, George Henry,  is shown as aged 42, born  in Stretford in 1859 and his occupation is  cotton salesman, whilst his mother, Amy, is aged 41, born 1860 in Eccles. They have four children Harry Gowan aged 18, born 1883 occupation solicitors clerk, Jenny aged 15, born 1886, Albert Edward aged 13, born 1888 and Thomas aged 11, born 1900.

The 1911 Census shows Albert Edward now aged 23 and occupation motor mechanic and driver living with the Cox family as a boarder at Banff Road, Ardwick. His parents and brother Thomas aged 20, were living at "Leaholme", Burnage Lane, Levenshulme.

Albert enlisted in Manchester and was formerly serving in the 11th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment but following a transfer he was serving in the 19^th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 30535 when he was killed in action on the 30^th March 1918 during the German Spring Offensive, aged 30. 

As Graham Maddocks points out in his book The Liverpool Pals, the CWGC records 38 men of the 19^th Bn of The King’s Liverpool Regiment as killed in action on 30^th March 1918 when as the Battalion diary below, shown in bold type, records that the men were actually out of the line and safely on the way to St Valery- sur- Somme.

The composite battalion moved off from ROUVREL at 8.30 am at 50 yards interval between companies, arriving at SALEUX at 3.20 pm where they entrained, detraining at ST. VALERY-SUR-SOMME the same night. The night was spent at ST. VALERY-SUR-SOMME.

Apart from those whose bodies were not found and are commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial all but two have burial sites at Savy British Cemetery, which itself is within a couple of miles of Roupy and contains most of the identified men killed on 22^nd March 1918. Therefore, it would appear that the date of death for these men shown as 30^th March 1918 is purely an arbitrary one and that they were in fact killed on 22^nd March.

Albert Edward is commemorated in Savy British Cemetery, France, where a Special Kipling Memorial reads:

“To the Memory of these 68 British Soldiers who were killed in action in March 1918 and buried at the time in the German Cemetery on the St. Quentin - Roupy Road, whose graves are now lost.”

Savy was taken by the 32nd Division on the 1st April 1917, after hard fighting, and Savy Wood on the 2nd. On the 21st March 1918 Savy and Roupy were successfully defended by the 30th Division, but the line was withdrawn after nightfall. The village and the wood were retaken on the 17th September 1918 by the 34th French Division, fighting on the right of the British IX Corps.

Savy British Cemetery was made in 1919, and the graves from the battlefields and from the following small cemeteries in the neighbourhood were concentrated into it.

There are now over 850, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, more than half are unidentified. Memorials are erected in the cemetery to 68 soldiers (chiefly of the 19th King's Liverpools and the 17th Manchesters), buried by the Germans in their cemetery on the St. Quentin-Roupy road, whose graves were destroyed by shell fire.

The Cemetery covers an area of 2,555 square metres and is enclosed by a low rubble wall.

Albert was listed as missing in the Weekly Casualty List 4th June 1918:-

Burgess 30535 A.E.(Manchester)

His younger brother L/Sgt Thomas Beardsall Burgess 250930 2/5 Manchester Regiment died on 14th July 1917. He now rests at Nieuwpoort Communal Cemetery in Belgium.

Even though his brother Thomas was already dead his Soldiers Effects and Pension were sent to his brother, 21 Green Street, Gorton.

His mother Amy died in September 1938 aged 79 and his father George died December 1939 aged 81, both died in Fylde.

We currently have no further information on Albert Edward Burgess, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.