Church records

On a recent visit to the archives at Liverpool Central Library I found a few snippets of information about the war memorial and St James Church.

I was disappointed to see that the Records of Services didn't give any details other than a title for the services but they were still interesting.  They showed that, as you would expect, the war was considered daily in church with either 'war intercession' or 'war litany' services/lessons.

The record of collections during services shows that money was collected for a variety of war-related causes including:

Roll of honour fund
St James wounded soldiers and prisoners of war
Blinded soldiers
Wounded soldiers
Sailors
French fund
Belgian fund
Armenian fund

I was also looking for family names connected with the memorial, there weren't any mentioned in the records of services but the Vestry meeting minutes had lists of sidesmen/women for each year (ushers)  and several of them shared surnames with the men on the memorial. for the more uncommon names Tonkies, and Reay we can be fairly sure that they were the same family, for Irvine, Clarke, Owen, Jones and Harker it seems very likely they were relatives but without their christian names recorded it is impossible to be sure.

I was very pleased to find a record of the cost of the memorial, the annual church warden accounts for 1920-1921 show 'St James War Memorial £22-4-11 which would be about £840 today... not quite the £10,000 it's going to cost for a replica!

Lance Corporal Marcus McLean 356377

Identification

There was only one Marcus McLean on the census, BMD and CWGC records and he was from Liverpool.

Family Information

Baptism records show that Marcus McLean was born in Liverpool on 6th September 1893 and was baptised in St Peter's Church on 22nd February 1894.

His parents were William and Sarah McLean and they lived on Roche Street

(I believe this is a misspelling of Roach St). William was a joiner.

source Ancestry.co.uk

In the 1901 census the McLean family were living at 32 Roach Street in Toxteth. William was still head of the household and working as a joiner. The census shows us that Marcus was the youngest of 7 children and the first member of the family born outside of Ireland.

At the time of the 1911 census the McLean family lived at 208 Windsor Street, Toxteth. William was still head of the household and stated his occupation as 'Undertaker and Joiner' working on his own account and at home; the 1911 Gore's Directory of Liverpool and Suburbs has the business listing for Mclean, William & Sons, Undertakers, 208 Windsor St.  Marcus was working as a builder's clerk, his siblings at home all had jobs that suggest a good education with 2 other clerks, one teacher and one undertaker's assistant in the family business.  

Military Service

Marcus McLean's Medal Index Card (below, source: ancestry.co.uk) shows that he was a private in the Liverpool Regiment with the regimental numbers 4868 and 356377.  These numbers show that he enlisted sometime in June 1915.

The card shows that Marcus McLean first entered the war on 24th December 1915 in France. He was awarded the Victory Medal, British War Medal and the 1915 Star, the card does not record his promotion to Lance Corporal.

Death and Commemoration

Marcus McLean was killed in action with the 10^th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment on 9^th April 1918. 

The battalion war diary shows that in March the Battalion had been rested which means they were out of the front line and took part in various training exercises and organised activities such as performances by the Battalion concert party and a platoon 6-a-side football tournament (which was won by Transport Coy). On 28^th March the Battalion was moved to the front line. 31^st March was Easter Sunday.

On 1^st April the Battalion was occupying front line and support trenches directly opposite La Bassee Canal.  Over the next week there was some shelling by the enemy including gas shells, we made a successful raid on the German trenches and brought back a prisoner for identification. The diary records various incidents of sniping and bombs being thrown. It records that on the 8^th April the battalion received orders to relieve part of the Portuguese Division the following day then in the early hours of the 9^th April a heavy bombardment of our lines began, followed by the order for battle positions. The 10^th KLR moved to occupy their battle position in Tuning Fork Locality, they were heavily shelled with high explosives and gas shells en route and sustained heavy casualties. At 9.50am after 5 hours of heavy shelling, the Germans attacked along the front line.  The 10^th KLR held off the enemy attack but the Portuguese Division to their left could not, the Germans penetrated our lines and the 10^th KLR had to form a defensive flank on that side which they did using Loisne Central trench. The night was quiet.

Trench map showing the Tuning Fork area. Loisne Central would be in the very top left of the map if it was shown.

Marcus McLean is commemorated at Gorre British and Indian Cemetery. The following paragraphs are from the CWGC Cemetery Information Page for Gorre, and give the wider picture of the battle:

The British section of the cemetery was used by infantry and artillery units stationed in the area until April 1918, when the relative quiet of the sector was shattered by the German Spring Offensive and Gorre became a support post close behind the front line during the Battle of Estaire. This battle was one of two massive German assaults on the Commonwealth positions from Ypres to Festubert that became known as the Battle of the Lys. When the battle erupted on 9 April, the 55th (West Lancashire) Division occupied the front-line trenches running north from Givenchy to Richebourg L’Avoué. The Allied positions to their left, around the village of Le Touret, were held by Portuguese units. 
After a preliminary artillery bombardment that began on the evening of 7 April the German Sixth Army, spearheaded by storm troops, attacked in force early on the morning of the 9th. Heavy mist enabled the attackers to get very close to the Allied lines before they were observed and Portuguese units suffered heavy casualties and began to retire. Further south, the various formations of the 55th Division were hard pressed from the outset and the front line trenches around Givenchy were the scene of fierce fighting between British and German troops. The divisional brigade holding the northern section of the British line was forced to pull back, but well-organised counter-attacks and determined defence elsewhere enabled the 55th Division to hold its ground for the rest of the battle and prevent a major German breakthrough. Fighting continued in the trenches east of Gorre until 17 April when the German forces finally broke off the attack. In just over a week of fighting almost 3,000 officers and men of the Division had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoner, but the territory over which they had fought remained in Allied hands. 

Marcus McLean’s grave is ‘special memorial 2’ which I believe means that his is one of the graves which was lost due to shelling so he has a gravestone which indicates that he lies somewhere in the cemetery. There are only 4 of these special markers in the cemetery, the text on them reads "Believed to be buried in this cemetery". His mother had added to the inscription the motto of the 55th Division "THEY WIN OR DIE WHO WEAR THE ROSE OF LANCASTER"

Click here to see the CWGC entry for Marcus McLean.

You can view (and purchase) images of his gravestone on The War Graves Photographic Projectwebsite. His family in Liverpool also had him included on the family headstone which reads:

In

loving memory

of

William,

the beloved husband of

Sarah Cameron McLEAN,

who passed away 28th March 1918,

aged 63 years.

*Thy will be done.*

Also Marcus, L’Cpl: Lpool Scottish,

youngest son of the above,

killed in action in France 9th April 1918,

aged 24 years.

*Greater love hath no man than this.*

Marcus’s mother lost her husband and her youngest son within a few weeks. (I will add a photo of this headstone)

The entry in “UK Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919” for Marcus McLean records the following information:

Name:	Marcus Mclean
Residence:	Liverpool
Death Date:	9 Apr 1918
Death Location:	France & Flanders
Enlistment Location:	Liverpool
Rank:	L/Corporal
Regiment:	King's (Liverpool Regiment)
Battalion:	10th Battalion
Number:	356377
Type of Casualty:	Killed in action
Theatre of War:	Western European Theatre

The 10th Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment were the Liverpool Scottish.  Click here to open  the Liverpool Scottish Regimental Museum website. This site also contains images of the Liverpool Scottish WW1 Roll of Honour, a beautiful book which of course contains Marcus McLean's name.

Marcus’s family and his fiance, Elsie Hodgson,  also posted the following notices in the Liverpool Echo:

 (25th April 1918)

(26th April 1918)

Private Edward Burston 1544

Edward Burston

Identification:

I found two results for Edward Burston in the CWGC database. One had the full name Edward but was in the Devonshire Regiment and it stated that he was from Somerset. The other had only the initial E and was in the South Lancashire Regiment with no details as to where he lived.

It seemed likely that the second record was the correct Edward Burston. Cross referencing with the Soldiers Died in the Great War results from Ancestry.co.uk gave me further proof that this was the correct man. As you can see below the SDGW entry shows that this E Burston in the South Lancs was Edward and from Toxteth, Liverpool. I am happy that I have the correct soldier.

Family information:

Edward Burston was born December1894-January 1895 and registered in Liverpool. He was baptised on 6th Feb 1895 at St John the Baptist, Toxteth Park. His parents were Samuel Frederick Burston and Priscilla, Samuel was a labourer and they lived at 41 Gaskell St.

Edward's mother died in 1901. In the census that year Edward aged 6 and 3 of his brothers (William 11, James 8, John 3) were enumerated at the house of their uncle and aunt Charles and Julie Burston, 90 Stanhope St. His father and 3 further brothers (Thomas 19, Joseph 15, Frederick 13) were next-door at 92 Stanhope St.

The 1911 census return shows Edward with 3 of his brothers (Joseph, Jim and John) and his father. They were living at 8 Friendship Place, Hampton St. This may sound pleasant but I think it was court housing with a pretty name.

Military information:

Edward enlisted in the Territorial Force on 20^th April 1912.  He was given the regimental number 1544 in the South Lancashire Regiment.

He was mobilized from the army reserve on 8^th August 1914, embarked at Southampton on 4^th December 1914 and was posted to the 2^nd Bn South Lancashire Regiment  5^th December 1914.

Some of Edward's paperwork survived (although damaged) in the National Archives. His attestation document shows that Edward was aged 17yrs 4months when he signed up in April 1912 for a period of 6 years. He had been working as a casual labourer and had a reference from his employer Mr J Hewitt of 22 Hampton Street.

Edward listed his next of kin as father Frederick and brothers Joseph, James and John all of 12 Court, 8 House Hampton St, Liverpool.

His medical report shows that Edward was examined on 19th April 1912 when he was 17yrs and 4 months old. He was 5ft 2 and 5/8 inches tall and weighed 121 lbs. His physical development was good and he had been vaccinated in infancy. He had brown eyes and dark brown hair. His distinguishing marks were ‘ a circular scar inside left shoulder blade, a scar small of back and a mole below left nipple.’

During his time in the army Edward may not have been the perfect soldier; in the few months he was in France, his record sheet shows several punishments. His conduct sheet has the following entries:

Wounded  23/1/15 the 'where' looks like 'Linden Hock'

Awarded 3days field punishment No2 for

“Irregular conduct on parade ie laughing on parade.”

13/2/1915

Awarded 7 days field pun No2 for

“not complying with an order eg not carrying a wounded man’s equipment when ordered to do so by an officer” and  “Disobedience of battalion orders ie wearing gum boots on parade”

14/2/1915

Awarded 3 days field punishment No2 for

“not being properly dressed on parade ie being deficient of a waterproof [sheet/shirt?]”

?/3/1915

[Field punishment number 2 involved being shackled and handcuffed but not attached to anything and sometimes also hard labour.]

The papers also note that Edward "Died, from wounds received in action. Place: Kemmel" and was "buried in the cemetery north of the chateau, Kemmel." A later note shows that his body was exhumed and reburied in Kemmel Chateau Military Cemetery.

Edward’s record also shows that he made an allotment of pay to his brother Frederick Samuel Burston of 112 Upper Essex St, Liverpool. His father had passed away in 1913. In 1920 Frederick completed Eligibility Forms for and listed Edward’s family as consisting of himself, two other brothers (John and James) and Thomas who was listed as a half-brother. Joseph and William were not mentioned.

The entry in UK SOLDIERS DIED IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919 shows the following:

Name:	Edward Burston
Birth Place:	Toxteth, Liverpool
Death Date:	12 Mar 1915
Death Location:	France & Flanders
Enlistment Location:	Liverpool
Rank:	Private
Regiment:	Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South      Lancashire Regiment)
Battalion:	2nd Battalion
Number:	1544
Type of Casualty:	Died of wounds
Theatre of War:	Western European Theatre

Edward’s medal card shows that he was a private, earned the Victory, British and 1915 Star medals and Died of Wounds 12th March 1915. It also shows that he fought in France, entering this 'theatre of war' on 5th December 1914.

  

Death and Commemoration

The date of Edward’s death places it at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle and it is likely that he received his wounds on the opening day of the action, 10^th March 1915.

You can read more about the experiences of the South Lancashire Regiment here.

You can read more about Neuve Chapelle here.

Private Edward Burston's body was exhumed from its original burial site and buried in Kemmel Chateau Military Cemetery, Belgium. This is about 8 miles from Ypres and holds 1131 casualties of WW1. 

Click here to see the record for Edward Burston on the CWGC.

Edward’s family informed the Liverpool Echo of his death and the following notice and photograph were printed on 6^th April, you will see that it mentions St James’ Church. 

Edward’s name was placed on the St James Memorial but, with the loss of that memorial, he was not commemorated anywhere in Liverpool until 2012 when we had his name added to the Roll of Honour at Liverpool Town Hall.