Information about birth

Date of birth:
25/07/1895
Place of birth:
Henry Hill, Victoria, Australia

General information

Profession:
Clerk

Army information

Country:
Australia
Force:
Australian Imperial Force
Rank:
Gunner
Service number:
1674
Enlistment date:
17/5/1915
Enlistment place:
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Units:
 —  Australian Field Artillery, 53rd Bty. 14th Bde.  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
04/10/1917
Place of death:
Polygoneveld, Belgium
Cause of death:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Age:
22

Cemetery

The Huts Cemetery
Plot: IX
Row: C
Grave: 9

Distinctions and medals 3

Points of interest 2

#1 Place of birth
#2 Enlistment place

My story

Gunner Eric Burgess served in the 53rd Battery, part of the 14th Field Artillery Brigade of the 5th Australian Division. He previously served in the 23rd Bn. Australian Infantry in Gallipoli. He was wounded in 1915 and again in 1916 in Pozières, France. After his second evacuation Eric was transferred to the 14th Australian Field Artillery Brigade. Eric was "claimed" by his brother, Joseph Bird Burgess, and transferred to the 53rd Battery of the 14th Field Artillery Brigade. Joseph probably wanted his little brother by his side.

On October 4 1917, the 14th Field Artillery Brigade took part in the Battle of Broodseinde, a phase of the Third Battle of Ypres. His artillery Brigade, along with the 13th, set up their guns between the hamlets of Polygoneveld and Westhoek. Both brothers, served at the same gun. They had to provide artillery support for the 2nd Australian Infantry Division. The attack started in the early morning with a heavy artillery barrage on the German positions.

At about 7 am, both the 13th and 14th artillery brigades were targeted by the German artillery. A German shell hit the ammunition stack of the gun of Eric and Joseph Burgess. The explosion killed the entire crew of four soldiers, together with a soldier and an officer of another battery close by. Joseph and his brother died side-by-side and were buried next to each other at The Huts Cemetery.

Connection to other soldiers 1

Files 1

Sources 6

Australian War Memorial
https://www.awm.gov.au/
Sources used
Bean C. E. W., Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18 Vol. IV The A.I.F. in France 1917, (Sydney, Angus and Robertson Ltd., 1943), p 839.
Sources used
First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455, BURGESS E).
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/NameSearch.aspx.
Sources used
Headquarters, 14th Australian Field Artillery Brigade, (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 13/41/16).
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583
Sources used
Headquarters, 5th Australian Field Artillery Brigade, (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 13/33/23).
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583
Sources used
McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 99.
Sources used

More information 4