Herbert BURROWS

17 September 1915

BURROWS – In the Dardanelles, aged 20, Pte. H. Burrows, of the 8th West Riding Regiment, son of Mrs. Rachel Burrows, of No. 3, Brook Street, Earby.

17 September 1915

DEATH OF EARBY SOLDIER

Official news was received on Sunday of the death from wounds of Private Herbert Burrows (20) son of Mrs. Rachel Burrows, a widow, living at No. 3 Brook Street, Earby. Private Burrows enlisted in the 8th West Riding Regiment about three weeks after the war commenced, and after about ten months’ training was drafted to the Dardanelles with his regiment, which, as is only too well known, has sustained many losses during the Gallipoli campaign.

The letter says that Private Burrows died from wounds in the Military Hospital at Malta, and his chums have written home to say that he was shot in the head whilst out in the open in search of water for both himself and his pals, who were suffering from thirst neath the scorching sun. Pte. Burrows was a native of Wigan. His brother, Private Ernest Burrows, and his brother-in-law, Private H. Wood, are both in France, where they are serving in the capacity of cycle despatch riders attached to the Leeds Rifles.

17 September 1915

EARBY LADS WITH THE 8th DUKE OF WELLINGTON’S

News of Comrades

Private James Walsh, son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Walsh of 79 Colne Road, Earby, who is in the 8th Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, has written home some interesting war-jottings, in which he says:– “You will find me a different lad if I get home again. We have been in some stiff ‘does’ and have suffered heavily, 320 being left out of 1000 of us. Our brigade has done very well, but we have paid the cost. The General says he wished he had all his Yorkshire lads back. Our Brigade has been in front on all the big advances, and that is a big honour. I am afraid H. Burrows is badly wounded. I went out of the dug-out in the trenches at five o’clock on Sunday, the 22nd, to find water for myself and pals. I found some about 200 yards away. Before five at night there had been about thirty shot down going to that well, and we could see them all. It was rotten. Never mind, I have come through so far, and I may come through all right at the end. We had a service on the beach last night, and we sang the hymn, ‘Lead, kindly light’. Well it takes a bit to move me, but that made me cry. I have prayed above once. As I am finishing this letter H.T. Smith has just come in, having been missing three days. R. Hewtson, E. Smith, J.T. Illingworth, H.T. Smith, H. Spencer (tackler), L. Trotter and J. Walsh are all well. Both Clarkes are wounded.”

Another Earby lad, Private N[H].T. Smith, of the same regiment in the Dardanelles, writes:–“We made an advance on the 22nd and 23rd, but I am sorry to say we paid very dearly for it. We were cut up terribly, and the worst part of it was that we lost a lot of Earby lads. Some of them, I am afraid, you will never see again. This is not civilised warfare; it is simply murder. It simply rained bullets and shrapnel, but I am still amongst the survivors. I was cut off from my regiment for three days, but I managed to fall in with the Munster Fusiliers, and I might mention here that my name has been sent in for being dead whilst under fire with the Munsters. You will perhaps have heard of this before you get my letter. One of the Clarkes from Earby got a bullet through the eye, and another is wounded. Burrows is wounded. Stockdale, Aldridge, Cross, and T. Hargreaves of Barnoldswick are missing. Sam Rigby is alive but taken prisoner, so you may tell his mother not to be downhearted, because I am confident he is alright.

15 October 1915

AN EXHORTATION TO EARBY ELIGIBLES

The Late Private H. Burrows

In a consolatory letter to his mother (Mrs. Burrows, 3 Brook Street, Earby) on the death of her son, Private Herbert Burrows, who was killed in the Dardanelles, Private Ernest Burrows, cyclist despatch ride with the West Riding Division in France, writes:– “It is a trying time for us all, but we must try to look beyond the grave and trust that God has taken him to where there is no war. There are many who have suffered far more than we have. Only the other day I was talking to a lad of 15 who had lost both father and mother as a result of the war. A German shell had killed them both. I remember going into a shop a little while ago, where there the mother showed me a little girl of four years who had a big scar on her face, and a piece of flesh cut away just above the knee through being hit by a splinter of shell. The husband had been killed and the mother had had to leave her own home and is now a refugee in another part of the country. When one sees poor little children like these they seem to say without speaking, ‘Won’t you help us?’ and I fancy I can hear them calling to those still at home who are fit, but have not yet offered their services in what we are all agreed is a just cause. Much as we shall miss poor Herbert we have the satisfaction that he died doing his duty, and we all feel proud of him because he offered what help he could in order to protect those who could not protect themselves. If ever I get back there are one or two old mates who will get to know what I think of them. I know they can’t all go, but there are some who are doing nothing at all to help; many of them are single and their parents have plenty coming in without them. These are they who, when innocent mothers and children of France and Belgium call for help, good as tell them to help themselves. Though we mourn the loss of our Herbert, I thank God that his answer to the call was ‘yes’. Christ said: “Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend”. We neither of us enlisted because we delighted in war, but because we believed the cause just, and like Herbert, I am willing to do my best in whatever I may be called upon to do.

I have had letters from mates who are single and fit in every way who have not yet enlisted. Some wish me the best of luck, and although I have nothing against any of them, it seems to me that their behaviour is like that of a man who stands on the canal bank and watches another drown, saying ‘I hope you get out all right’, instead of trying to get him out. The best way to increase one’s luck is by coming and doing their bit, and helping to bring the war to a successful end.” In a postscript the writer adds:– “I had just finished the letter when I received the ‘Pioneer’. I see that Herbert’s pals say that he was shot in the head while fetching water for his parched pals, and I couldn’t help feeling a lump in my throat when I read that he had been killed while trying to help others. Dear Herbert, he has shown me a good example of self-sacrifice which I will do my best to copy. It hurts me to think there are so many who won’t help the lads who have done so nobly. There are more wanted, and I ask the lads of Earby and district to enlist in order to help those who have helped others.”

24 December 1915

CRAVEN’S ROLL OF HONOUR – EARBY

Pte. Herbert Burrows, 8th West Riding Regiment, and son of Mrs. Rachael Burrows, a widow residing at 3 Brook Street, Earby, died from wounds in the military hospital at Malta.