William
Edward James BURBIDGE
was born on the 4 March 1867 at Springbourne
Holdenhurst Hampshire. He was 
baptised on the 29 September 1867 at
Sturminster Marshall Dorset, (son of William BURBIDGE
and Rachel
Fanny Matilda RABBITS) Occupation Sgt 1st Dorset Reg.
He married his first wife on the 28
Aug 1893, in Lytchett Matravers Dorset, 1909.
He married his second wife on the 12 December 1909, in Parish Church
Lytchett Matravers Dorset.
This is a picture of William and his
second wife Mary Ann Short. Standing is his brother Jessie (also known as
Alfred Henry Jesse Burbidge)and son Peter (Also known as Albert Edward
Burbidge).
1.Laura Lavinia BURBIDGE was born on the 26 November 1871 in
Lytchett Minster Dorset, (daughter of Benjamin BURBIDGE and Julia Ann DEAN) Occupation Servant. She died on the 12 March 1909 in
Lytchett Matravers Dorset, She was buried: 15 Mar 1909, Lytchett Matravers
Dorset.
2. Mary Ann SHORT was born 10 June 1878 at Lytchett
Matravers Dorset, and baptised on the 28 July 1878 in Lytchett Matravers Dorset
(daughter of Frederick
Charles SHORT
and Jemima Ann BENNETT) She died on the 7 July 1945 in
Christchurch, Hampshire.
William was a Sergeant in the 1st Dorset
Regiment. He became a soldier when he
was just 19 years old in the 1870’s. He
spent most of his life in the Army, only leaving for a few years when his
family came along. During his career he
was stationed in Egypt, the Mediterranean, and India (where he fought in the
North West Frontier Campaign). He was
called upon again during WW1 but became ill and he died in 1917 of heart
disease.
William died on the 7 January 1917, at Hopmans
Cottage, Lytchett Matravers Dorset and buried on the 9 January 1917.
Last updated March 2, 2002
WILLIAM BURBIDGE 1867-1917
A SHORT HISTORY AND INTERPRETATION
Written by his
Great Granddaughter
Lesley Fuller
William Edward James Burbidge, born on the 4th March
1867 in Springbourne, Hants, can be best described as a soldier - a strong and
determined man (this can be clearly seen in the photos we have of him) who
fully believed in discipline and duty.
He was considered by the army to be of ‘very good’ character and
remembered by his daughter, Olive as being ‘a sergeant at home’.
He is stated in various medical and military documents
as being five feet five and a half inches tall, of good build (a thirty six and
a half inch chest measurement and weighing 138lbs as reported in a 1886 medical
examination, 122lbs in medical history dated 26th September 1914) with hazel
eyes, light brown hair and a fresh, but freckled complexion. We even know from the 1886 exam that he had
a small mole over the left corner of his mouth.
His stated trade at age nineteen years was a carter
(or delivery man) and in later years he was a woodsman. He also worked as a labourer and a
brickmaker. His involvement in military work though
is consistently evident: as a private, a sergeant, or a groomsman etc..
He was enlisted to the 1st Dorset Regiment, under the rank of
private, on the 28th December 1886.
This is the earliest record we have of a military posting for
William. According to the medical
examination carried out just prior to this on the 22nd December 1886, he was
nineteen years and eight months old.
Evidence of drunkenness whilst on parade and an occasion of ‘not
complying with orders’ a testament to his young age. His final discharge from the army after being declared unfit for
duty was not until the 12th November 1916, thirty years later. (The
ailments listed included a heart problem which was said to be aggravated by his
military service). It was
merely two years after his discharge that he died at his home in Hopmans Cottage,
Lytchett Matravers. A soldier
practically to the end.
He saw quite a bit of the world as a soldier. From 1888 until 1898 he was continually
posted overseas. For about a year and a
half he was posted in the Mediterranean then he spent four and a half years in Egypt,
being promoted to Lance corporal in 1891 and then to Corporal in1893. The following four years were spent in India
during the North West Frontier (1897-98).
He was awarded the Indian Frontier Clasp during his service in India,(although
we don’t know exactly what this decoration was for) and received promotion
first to Lance Sergeant in 1896 and then to Sergeant on the 18th May
1897.
His postings were restricted to home after his
marriage in 1898 to Laura Lavinia and the birth of his first child Fanny
Lavinia, which would suggest he recognised the duties of his homelife. A ‘Statement of Services’ form shows
William’s unusual request in June 1901 to revert to the rank of private. He was still a sergeant at the time. This could have been because his current
rank was keeping him away from his family, his second child Albert Edward
(Peter) was born just prior to this on 5th February 1901. He did not reclaim the rank of Sergeant
until 27th April 1902 and was discharged as such later that same
year. Shortly after the birth of his
third child, Ethel Matilda (4th November 1902).
His other children were born after his 1902 discharge:
William James (8th April 1905), and Meyrick (1907 died 1909). Then from his second marriage to Mary Ann
Short in December 1909, daughters, Olive Rose Mary (21st July 1911)
and Ada Tabitha Kate (19th October 1913) and his fourth son and
eighth child Frederick Walter (10th June 1915). It was not until 26th September 1914 that William re-enlisted to the
army (Ada being
less than a year old and nine months before Frederick’s birth) his priorities
some what changed by the outbreak of war.
Children:
i Fanny Lavinia BURBIDGE b. 1 Dec 1898, d. ?.
ii Albert Edward BURBIDGE b. 5 Feb 1901, d. 1970.
iii Ethel
Matilda
BURBIDGE b. 4 Nov 1902, d. 1993.
iv William
James BURBIDGE b. 1905, d. 1997.
v Meyrick
BURBIDGE also known as: Ernest Meyrick b. c1907,
d 1909.
vi Olive Rose Mary
BURBIDGE b. 21 Jul 1911, d. 2006
vii Ada
Tabitha Kate BURBIDGE b. 19 Sep 1913, d. 1977.
viii Frederick Walter
BURBIDGE b. 10 Jun 1915, d. 1981.
