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Colonel Arthur Vincent Burge, MBE, BEM
Royal Engineers

by
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edward De Santis, MSCE, PE, MInstRE
(December 2021)  

Figure 1.  Colonel Arthur Vincent Burge, MBE, BEM, R.E.
(Photograph courtesy of the Burge Family Tree)  

1.  INTRODUCTION  

            The principal references used in the preparation of this narrative were from a number of sources.  They include census records, official registries in the United Kingdom, medal rolls, family trees, Army Lists, The London Gazette and the service papers of Colonel Burge.  The main source of information regarding Colonel Burge’s military career came from his service papers, which were obtained from the Army Personnel Centre in Glasgow, Scotland.  In addition, Arthur and I were friends; therefore, a good deal of the information included in this narrative is based on personal communications.  Because of this friendship, Colonel Burge will be referred to simply as Arthur in most parts of the following narrative of his life and military service. 

            All sources for this work are contained in the REFERENCE section at the end of the narrative and are cited throughout in the ENDNOTES.  Where no citation is given, the information was obtained from Colonel Burge’s service papers.  Every effort has been made to write the story of his life and military service as accurately as possible.  Some assumptions had to be made when interpreting the entries in his service papers, especially with regard to the dates of his posting and the units to which he was posted.  Arthur compiled a 250-page record of his life and service, the original of which is in the hands of one of his grandsons.  A copy of this record also is in the Imperial War Museum.  Obviously Arthur’s own account of his life and service would provide more detail than is contained in my account of this story; however, 250 pages would require a book format to do it justice.   I have hoped to provide this narrative of his life to honor him as a soldier, a friend and a true gentleman.  This is my tribute to him as a friend and a fellow Sapper.  

2.  FAMILY INFORMATION AND EARLY LIFE  

Family Information

Grandparents

            Arthur Vincent Burge’s grandfather was John Burge (1840-?) of Brighton, Sussex.  His grandmother was Mary Anne Burge, née Smart (1842-1926) of Charlton, Somerset.[1]

Figure 2.  Mary Anne Burge.
(Photograph courtesy of the Burge Family Tree) 

Parents

            Arthur’s father was Arthur Robert Burge (1889-1953) who was born in Cardiff, Wales on 18 July 1887.[2]  Arthur’s mother was Flora Edith Burge, née Cox (1886-1977).  Flora was born in Sheerness, Kent on 30 April 1886.  Arthur Robert Burge and Flora Edith Cox were married in Cardiff in 1916.

Figure 3.  Arthur Robert Burge                    Figure 4.  Flora Edith Burge.

(Photographs courtesy of the Burge Family Tree) 

            The Burge household, as it existed in 1911, is shown in the census return presented in the table below.  Arthur Robert Burge was living with his mother and four sisters and had not yet been married. 

1911 Census of England and Wales

NOTES:

(1)   All the middle names or initials shown in parentheses have been added for completeness.  These names were not shown on the original census form. (2)   Lottie was working at “Home” on her “On Accord”; that is, she was self-employed.

(3)   Lily was a school teacher for the local Council.

(4)   Jessie worked for a tea dealer.

(5)   Arthur worked for a fruit importer.

            In addition to the siblings shown in the table, Arthur Robert Burge had two more sisters and another brother; Annie (1868-?), Hetty (1872-?) and James Edgar (1883-?).[3]

Early Life (1919-1929)

            Arthur Vincent Burge was born in Cardiff, Wales on 29 June 1919, the only child of Arthur Robert and Flora Edith Burge.  As a youngster, Arthur attended Allensbank Elementary School and Howard Gardens Grammar School, both located in Cardiff. 

Figure 5.  Allensbank Elementary School, Llanishen Street, Cardiff, Wales.
(Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia)

Figure 6.  Howard Gardens Grammar School, Cardiff, Wales.
(Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia)  

            On 11 October 1935, at the age of 16, Arthur was appointed a Temporary Postman-Messenger.[4]  The following year he was employed as a Sorting Clerk and an instructor at the General Post Office in Cardiff.  On 13 August 1937 Arthur was appointed a Mail Sorting Clerk (Postal).[5]

Figure 7. The General Post Office, Westgate Street, Cardiff.[6]
(Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia)

            After serving in the Post Office for almost four years, Arthur decided to join the Territorial Army (T.A.).  Prior to his enlistment he received a medical examination to determine if he was fit for service.   His description upon enlistment is described in the following section.  At the time of his enlistment he was living at 16 Edington Avenue, Heath, Cardiff, County of Glamorgan.

Figure 8. The Burge Residence at 16 Edington Avenue, Cardiff.
(Photograph courtesy of Google Earth)           

3.  PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

            From the description given by the Medical Officer who examined him it is obvious that Arthur was a tall, lean young man.  Military records during this period are curious in that they always included a man’s “Religious denomination” as part of his physical description.  This dates back to the Victorian period and continued for some years after Arthur’s enlistment.         

4.  ENLISTMENT AND TRAINING  

Enlistment

            Arthur Burge enlisted in the Corps of Military Police (Territorial Army) on 10 July 1939.  He had received a Certification of Medical Examination on 6 July and was found fit for service.[7]  As part of his enlistment he was required to answer a number of standard questions that typically were asked of all new recruits.  To these questions he gave the following responses:

·         His residence was 16 Edington Avenue, Cardiff.

·         He was 20 years of age.

·         He was not married.

·         He had no prior service in His Majesty’s forces.

·         He was willing to attest for 4 years’ service for the County of Glamorgan in the Corps of Military Police.

·         He was willing to serve to be posted to the 53^rd Division Provost Company Headquarters at Llanelli in Carmarthenshire.[8]

·         He was working as a Sorting Clerk in the Cardiff Post Office.

·         He was living with his father and mother.

·         His father worked as an Accounts Inspector in the furniture trade.

            On the same day as his enlistment, Arthur was issued a Certificate of Primary Military Examination and was found fit for service in the Corps of Military Police by the Recruiting Officer of the 1/5^th Battalion, Welsh Regiment in Cardiff.  He had become a Private in the Corps of Military Police (T.A.), Army Number 7685227.[9]

            On 17 July 1939 Arthur Burge’s attestation was certified by the Approving Authority, the Provost Marshal at Ash Vale, Aldershot.  His attestation papers were then sent to the Record Office, Corps of Military Police and Military Provost Staff Corps.

5.  ASSIGNMENTS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

Home Service (1939-1940)

            On 4 August 1939, just three weeks after the approval of his attestation, Private Burge was appointed an Unpaid Lance Corporal.[10]  From 13 to 27 August 1939 he attended the annual training camp with the 53^rd Division Provost Company[11] and on 1 September he was appointed a Lance Corporal (paid) and was embodied for service in World War 2.  This rapid promotion was probably due to the fact that the main body of a divisional provost company was made up of Lance Corporals (see Footnote 12).

France (1940)

            On 10 January 1940 Arthur went to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.).  At the time that he was posted to France there were 8 Headquarters Security Police Sections, 3 Corps Provost Companies and 10 Divisional Provost Companies[12] in the B.E.F.  Arthur’s records do not indicate in which unit he served at that time.  Also, the unit that he ultimately served with, the 105 Provost Company, does not appear in the B.E.F. Order of Battle (ORBAT) at the time.[13]

            It was not until 1 March 1940 that the 105 Provost Company was assigned to General Headquarters of the B.E.F. in France.[14]  The company may have been in France earlier than this date (since Arthur was there on 10 January) but this is uncertain. 

            Arthur departed France on home leave on 24 April and arrived in the U.K. the following day.  He returned to France on 7 May.  The Germans invaded France three days later.  By 25 May 1940 elements of the invading German forces took Boulogne.  It appears that Arthur and his company were in or near Boulogne at the time, as the 105 Provost Company suffered one casualty in that area on 20 May.  The company lost 7686074 Lance Corporal Joseph Freitas Guimaraes Hackett, aged 23, on that day.  Lance Corporal Hackett was the son of Joseph F. G. and Mildred R. G. Hackett, of Tollerton, Nottinghamshire.  He is buried in the BOULOGNE EASTERN CEMETERY, Plot 10, Row B, Grave 2.

            On 31 May 1940 the Headquarters, British Expeditionary Force closed down and all units reverted to Home Forces.  This obviously was and administrative exercise for the troops still in France as they were desperately attempting to get “home.”  Arthur left France on 3 June, one of the lucky evacuees from Dunkirk.[15]  He arrived in England on the following day and was immediately granted leave.  Rest and re-equipment after the ordeal at Dunkirk was certainly required, so Arthur surely went home to Wales at this time.

            Arthur’s service records indicate that he was appointed a paid Lance Corporal in 105 Provost Company on 9 September 1940 and on 14 December he was appointed Acting Corporal in the company and was granted the pay of this appointment.  He was promoted to the rank of War Substantive Corporal on 14 March 1941 while he was still serving in 105 Provost Company. 

Egypt and North Africa (1941-1943)

            Arthur saw considerable action in June of 1942 when, having been badly defeated by the Axis forces at Gazala in Libya, the British 8^th Army retreated east into Egypt and assumed a defensive position near El Alamein.  At or near El Alamein 105 Provost Company suffered two fatal casualties:[16]

• 7690622 Lance Corporal Frederick Walter Bottrill died on 20 June.  Bottrill, aged 31, was the son of William and Ellen Bottrill; husband of Edna Delia Bottrill, of Greenford, Middlesex.  His death is commemorated on the Alamein Memorial, Column 83.[17]
• 5378355 Lance Corporal Richard Clayton died on 21 June.  Clayton, aged 34, also is commemorated on the Alamein Memorial, Column 83.[18]

Figure 10. The Alamein Memorial.
(Photograph courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission)

            Arthur’s service papers show that he remained with 105 Provost Company following the first and second battles of El Alamein.  He had charge of a section of the company throughout the campaigns in the desert.  On 5 June 1943 he departed Egypt and arrived on the island of Malta the following day.  His records do not indicate the purpose of this trip, but it appears to have been a temporary duty postings, as he was back in Egypt by 15 July where he rejoined his company.  On 29 August 1943 105 Provost Company became part of the British North Africa Force and then the Central Mediterranean Force.  The company was still with the British 8^th Army and was to take part in operations in Sicily and Italy.

Sicily and Italy (1943-1946)

            Arthur and his company fought with the 8^th Army through Sicily and onto the boot of Italy.  Arthur again had charge of a section of his company in Sicily and in Italy.  Near a town called Bari on the east coast of Italy north of Taranto, 105 Provost Company suffered another fatal casualty on 12 October 1943.  He was 3456816 Lance Corporal Charles Francis Garrity, aged 39.  Garrity had originally enlisted in the Lancashire Fusiliers and was a transfer into the Corps of Military Police.[19]  Lance Corporal Garrity was buried in the Bari War Cemetery, Plot II, Row B, Grave 33.

            The 8^th Army fought its way north along the east coast of Italy with 105 Provost Company assigned to 8^th Army Troops.  While the company moved up the coast Arthur Burge was mentioned in despatches for his service in North Africa.[20]  By May of 1944 Arthur was a Sergeant.  He took part in the preparations for the launching of the offensive at Monte Cassino when 105 Provost Company was tasked with bringing armoured units forward to the Army boundary.  This was done on tracks by night and Sergeant Burge was responsible for the greater part of this work.  According to the citation for the British Empire Medal that he subsequently was awarded, he performed this work in an outstanding manner; work that included track lighting and escorting vehicles over long periods without regard to personal fatigue or discomfort.  The smooth and efficient way in which the armour was fed forward could largely be attributed to his efforts.      

            On 4 August 1944, when British troops entered Florence, Sergeant Burge took his section into the city.  He was the senior non-commissioned officer of the police detachment which went into the city in the early hours of occupation.  During the first ten days, when the city was not completely in Allied hands, he showed great coolness and efficiency during a most trying period.  The area was under shell and mortar fire and there were many cases of civilian disturbances and sniping.  The excellent example that he set for his men, and his efficiency and devotion to duty, enabled his detachment to do invaluable work in establishing and maintaining order, keeping up civilian morale, and controlling and preventing civilian and refugee movements.  At this time the British line in the city was lightly held at the River Arno.  Has any of the potential problems so well controlled by Arthur and his detachment gotten out of control, military operations in and around the city could have been severely hampered.[21] 

            On 8 August 1944 105 Provost Company left 8^th Army control and was assigned to the Allied Army Italy.  On 24 August Arthur was mentioned in despatches for his service in Italy.[22]

            105 Provost Company continued its advance up the east coast of Italy with the Allied Army.  On 6 September 1944 the company suffered another fatality.  He was 6406446 Lance Corporal Charles Henry Kehr, aged 30.  Kehr died near Gradara on the coast about 124 kilometers to the east of Florence.  He was the son of Charles and Maria Kehr and husband of Mary Kehr, of Hillingdon, Uxbridge, Middlesex.  Kehr had been a transfer from the Royal Sussex Regiment to the CMP.[23]  He was buried at the Gradara War Cemetery, Plot II, Row F, Grave 50.[24]

            105 Provost Company returned to 8^th Army Control on 26 September 1944.  Arthur Burge served in the company until August of 1945.  During this period he provided police escorts for His Majesty King George VI and for the heads of a number of Commonwealth countries on battlefield tours.

            Arthur Burge left 105 Provost Company on 20 August 1945 and was posted to the 65^th Transit Camp in Taranto, Italy where he awaited orders posting him to a unit in the U.K.  Those orders came on 6 September 1945 when he was posted to 101 Provost Company.  His stay with that company lasted a little over four months when he was posted to 112 Provost Company to be the Officer Commanding that unit.  His orders assigning him command of 112 Provost Company, WO170/8869, read “RSM Burge ex 101 Pro Coy (to be) new OC.”  He had been promoted Regimental Sergeant Major at some point near the end of his tour of duty in Italy.  His orders posting him as OC of 112 Provost Company appear to have indicated a shortage of Military Police officer in the CMP at that time.  Both 101 and 112 Provost Companies were in Italy at the time.  

Home Service (1946-1948)

            Arthur arrived home on 4 March 1946 and probably was granted a number of months of leave following his war service.  On 29 June 1946 Regimental Sergeant Major Burge was transferred to the Class “Z” Reserve.[25]  His service records indicate that his Military Conduct was “Exemplary.”

            Arthur was demobilized from active service in 1947 and he returned to work at the General Post Office, presumably the GPO in Cardiff.  He was employed by the General Post Office as a Senior Training Officer. 

            On 10 February 1948 he was awarded the Efficiency Medal with bar [MILITIA].[26]  On 13 December 1948 he was discharged from the Royal Military Police[27] (Territorial Army) for the purpose of being appointed to a commission.  He had served 9 years and 157 days in the ranks towards his engagement and 6 years and 301 days towards his pension.

6. COMMISSIONED SERVICE

            Arthur Burge was commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant (Territorial Army), Number 399911, in the Corps of Royal Military Police.  He was appointed a Temporary Lieutenant on the same day of his commissioning and was posted to his old company, the 53^rd (Welsh) Divisional Provost Company.[28]

            As part of the commissioning process he was required to have a medical examination to determine his fitness to continue serving.  This examination was administered on 22 December 1948 under the Army’s new PULHHEEMS profile system, with the letters standing for P-Physical Capacity, U-Upper Extremity, L-Locomotion, H-Hearing (right), H-Hearing (left), E-Eyesight (right), F-Eyesight (left), M-Mental Capacity and S-Stability of Emotions.  The attributes examined in PULHHEEMS receive a score from 1 to 8, with 1 being excellent and 8 being unfit for service. Although in theory all attributes could be scored from 1 to 8, in practice only eyesight and hearing could be graded 1. Although there was provision for grading a serviceman's physical measurements as P1, the examination required would be impossible within the constraints of the PULHHEEMS system.   The Mental and Stability measurements were not exhaustive psychological examinations. The former was a test of the ability to form coherent thought processes, while the latter was a measurement of the serviceman's stress level.

            The following are the results of Arthur’s examination in 1948 (Note: At the time of Arthur’s examination there was no distinction made for each ear during the hearing test).

             Based on these results from his medical examination, Arthur was considered fit for a commission in the Royal Corps of Military Police.

Annual Training (1949-1954)

            As an officer in the RMP (TA) Arthur was now required to attend annual training with his unit, the 53^rd (Welsh) Divisional Provost Company.  The following are the annual camps which he attended while serving in the Territorial Army:

9-23 June 1949: 2^nd Lieutenant, RMP – at Llanbedr

11-25 June 1950: 2^nd Lieutenant, RMP – at Llanbedr

28 July – 11 August 1951: Lieutenant, RMP - at Castle Martin

27 July – 10 August 1952: Lieutenant, RMP - at Castle Martin

26 July – 9 August 1953: Lieutenant, RMP - at Castle Martin

            On 22 February 1951 he had received another medical examination with results identical to those above. 

Service in the Royal Engineers (1954-1979)

Home Service (1954-1957)

            On 13 September 1954 Arthur Burge was granted a Special Service Commission as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers and was promoted to Lieutenant on the same day.  He was posted to the Royal Engineers Home Postal Depot in London.[29]  This commission and posting was undoubtedly due to his experience with postal work at the General Post Office.  During the period of his commission the Royal Engineers were responsible for postal and courier services for the Army.  Prior to his commissioning he underwent another medical examination at the Home Postal Depot.  The results of the examination were identical to those presented above.

            Arthur was posted to the Royal Engineers Depot at Barton Stacey in Hampshire on 12 June 1955.  As a Lieutenant, Arthur probably was one of the R.E. officers responsible for operating the postal unit located at this large depot.  He did not remain at Barton Stacey very long.  On 21 June 1955 he returned to the Home Postal Depot, R.E. in the Knightsbridge section of London.  The Home Postal Depot despatched all U.K. mail to overseas forces including the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), Middle East Land Forces (M.E.L.F.), Far Eastern Bases in Singapore, Malaya and ships of the Royal Navy.  The Army Post Offices abroad offered a full array of postal services; that is, all counter transactions, national security mail as well as distribution of all forces mail through collection by the garrisons’ own postal units.  On 2 February 1956, while serving at the Home Postal Depot, Arthur was appointed a Temporary Captain.[30] 

Hong Kong (1957-1958)

            On 24 April 1957 Arthur was posted to Hong Kong where he assumed command of 40 Postal Unit.  He remained in Hong Kong until 9 October 1958 when he was posted home to the 19^th Infantry Brigade Postal Unit. 

Home Service (1958-1960)
            On 25 May 1959 he was given another medical examination by the brigade medical officer.  The results of this examination are shown in the table below.  This exam indicated that he had suffered a slight loss in hearing, but nothing serious enough to affect his ability to serve. During the remainder of his time in the Army he would receive many additional medical examinations, with no changes in the results presented below.

             While serving with the 19^th Infantry Brigade, Arthur received some training that might have seemed unusual for a Royal Engineers officer involve with postal services.  He attended No. 2 Air Mobility School, Land and Air Warfare from 12 to 16 October 1959.[31]  The School of Land/Air Warfare was a Royal Air Force school based at Old Sarum in Wiltshire. Its purpose was to develop greater cooperation between officers in the air and those on the ground.  Just what value this course had for Arthur in his position with the R.E. Postal and Courier Service is not known as he did not get involved in land/air operations for the remainder of this time in the Army.

            Arthur left the 19^th Infantry Brigade on 2 March 1960 and reported to the Home Postal Depot, probably in preparation for his next posting abroad.  He departed the U.K. on 25 April 1960 for his new assignment in Aden.

Aden (1960-1962).

            When Arthur arrived in Aden he was posted to 261 Postal Unit.  Fortunately he and his family were in Aden prior to the Aden Emergency (Radfan Uprising).  On 1 May 1960 Arthur was appointed a Temporary Major and was assigned as the Deputy Assistant Director of Army Postal Services for the British Forces Aden Protectorate.[32]  Then on 13 September he was promoted to the rank of Captain (Short Service Commission, Royal Engineers).[33]  While in Aden he underwent two medical examinations, one on 6 December 1960 and another on 9 January 1962.  The results of both exams were identical to his May 1959 exam, showing the same slight hearing loss.  Hearing losses for serving soldiers was not unusual then nor is it unusual today.  Exposure to loud noises during training, and in Arthur’s case exposure to artillery fire, both friendly and enemy, may well have caused this problem for him.

            The London Gazette dated 10 April 1962 and Arthur’s Form B.199 show that on 2 February 1962 a number of changes occurred with his rank within the Regular Army.  He was listed as a 2^nd Lieutenant with seniority as of 13 August 1950, as a Lieutenant with seniority as of 13 August 1952 and a Captain with seniority as of 13 August 1956.  These were his substantive ranks within the Corps of Royal Engineers.

Home Service

            Arthur was posted to the Home Postal Depot again on 28 May 1962.  By 1961 the Home Postal & Courier Communications Depot, R.E. (as it was then called) had moved from its premises on Gorst Road, Acton, to fully occupy Inglis Barracks at Mill Hill in London.

Figure 11.  Inglis Barracks, Mill Hill.
(Photograph courtesy of Hidden London)  

NOTE: There appears to be some confusing regarding Arthur’s location during the period from May 1962 to July 1962.  His Form B.199 shows his posting to the R.E. Home Postal Depot on 28 May 1962.  His Form B.199a indicates that he was posted to Headquarters 3^rd Division on 18 June 1962, but his Family Tree on Ancestry.com indicates that his youngest son, Jeremy, was born in Yemen on 5 July 1962.  This would seem to indicate that Arthur and his family still were in Aden at that time.

            Despite the confusion indicated in the NOTE above, Arthur did spend a short time at the Home Postal Depot at Mill Hill and was then posted to Headquarters of the 3^rd Division as the Deputy Assistant Director of Postal Services.  It appears that he was attached to the division’s Signal Regiment for a period of time.

            During May and June of 1963 element of the 3^rd Division deployed to British Guiana on a training exercise and Arthur was with that element.  Upon completion of the exercise the division returned to its home station at Bulford in Wiltshire.  For his services with the 3^rd Division during the period June 1962 to July 1963 at Bulford and in British Guiana, Arthur was recommended to be made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Years’ Honours List for 1964.  The Citation for this award was written by Lieutenant Colonel J.W. Tomes, OBE the Acting Assistant Quartermaster General of the 3^rd Division.  The Citation reads as follows:[34]

            For the past year Major BURGE has been responsible for the Postal Services of the Division.  Apart from routine work, he has had to plan and organise postal service for units taking part in operations and exercises in many parts of the world from British Guiana and Canada to Borneo and Australia.  

            It is due entirely to his enthusiasm and hard work that postal arrangement have worked smoothly and done so much to maintain morale in the units deployed.  

            In all his work he has shown the greatest enthusiasm and energy.  He has on several occasions been called upon to investigate postal problems when units outside the Division have been deployed.  He has carried out these tasks in a most efficient and imaginative manner.  It was due to his work in British Guiana in May and June of this year during the general strike that an efficient postal service was started.  He organized an improvised service with the Dutch Forces and later ensured that a regular service was running before returning to the UK.  

            It is natural that in this appointment Major BURGE has been employed on other duties in the Hq.  Indeed, he is always ready to offer his assistance in any matter, and whatever task he has undertaken he has done most willingly and efficiently.  

            During his tour with the Division his aim has been to develop the Postal Services in line with latest air supply procedures for the Strategic Reserve.[35]  He has succeeded by his personal example of enthusiastic and energetic approach to his problems.  

            On 13 August 1963 while still serving in the Postal Section in the Headquarters with the 3^rd Division at Bulford, Arthur was promoted the Regular Army Major, R.E. (Postal and Courier Branch).[36]  He relinquished his position as Deputy Assistant Director of Postal Service, 3^rd Division, on 27 October 1963 and the following day was posted to Headquarters Armoured Forces Postal and Courier Service.  This was a supernumerary posting pending his final assignment to the HQ of the Armoured Forces.  His permanent assignment came on 10 November 1963 when he was made the S.O.II[37] of Headquarters Armoured Forces P&CS.

            The New Years Honours published on 1 January 1964 honoured Major Arthur Vincent Burge by making him a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.[38]  On 3 March 1964 he was appointed an Acting Lieutenant Colonel, the rank commensurate with his position as S.O.II in the Armoured Forces Command.  He relinquished this acting rank on 21 June 1964, perhaps due to the posting of a Lieutenant Colonel to the command.

            Arthur left the Armoured Forces Command on 3 August 1965 when he returned to the Home Postal and Courier Depot.  He was again elevated to the rank of Acting Lieutenant Colonel on 13 May 1967 and again relinquished the acting rank on 28 August 1967.  On 1 October 1967 he was appointed Temporary Lieutenant Colonel and Assistant Director of Postal and Communications Services for Planning.  Finally, after all of these acting and temporary promotions, Arthur was promoted to the substantive rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Royal Engineers Postal and Courier Section on 31 December 1967 with the rank ante-dated to 30 June 1967.

            While serving as the A.D.P.C.S. (Planning) Arthur attended a number of training courses obviously designed for future level staff and command assignments.  From 11 to 16 March 1968 he attended the General Post Office Officers’ Management Course.  Then from 23 to 30 March he was at Leeds University where he attended the Services Management Course.  Following the successful completion of this training he relinquished his position as  A.D.P.C.S. (Planning) on 30 July 1969 and on 19 August he was posted to 8 Command Postal & Courier Depot in the British Army of the Rhine, as the Officer Commanding the Depot.

            On 16 January 1973 Arthur began an extended course of instruction at the Institution of Training for Officers.  He completed this course on 17 May 1974.  Upon the completion of this training Arthur was posted to an assignment that would utilize this advanced training.  This assignment would take him to many locations in the world that would require his training skills.  His extensive travel itinerary is listed here during 1973 and 1974:

 12 November 1973:               To Gibraltar

15 November 1973:                Returned to the U.K.

3 February 1974:                     To Hong Kong

9 February 1974:                     Returned to the U.K.

25 April 1974:                         To Hong Kong

2 May 1974:                            Returned to the U.K.

            On 31 December 1974 Arthur was promoted to the rank of Colonel in the Royal Engineers and posted to Inglis Barracks in Mill Hill.[39]  On 11 July 1975 the Official First Day Cover honoring the British Forces Postal Service was issued while he was serving there.

Figure 12. British Force Postal Service First Day Cover.
(Presented to the author by Arthur Burge)

            Arthur remained on active service until 29 June 1979 when he retired on half-pay as a Colonel.  At the time of his retirement he was serving at the Duke of Gloucester Barracks in South Cerney, Gloucestershire as Officer Commanding the 2^nd Postal and Courier Regiment, Royal Engineers. 

__________________________________________________________________________

The following sections are presented in tabular form to summarize Arthur Burge’s promotions, appointments, military training and qualifications and the medals that he was awarded during his time in the Army.  They are provided to give the reader easy access to these aspects of his military career.  The tables are followed by sections dealing with his marriage, personal information and post-service life.

__________________________________________________________________________

7.  PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS

a.  Promotions:  Arthur Burge received the following promotions during his time in service:

NOTES:

(1)   Exact date of promotion to Sergeant is not known.

(2)   Promoted to Lieutenant on the same day as his commissioning. 

(3)   Promoted to Lieutenant on the same day as his commissioning. 

(4)   Amendments to dates of rank after transfer to the Regular Army.

(5)   Acting ranks relinquished due to change in assignments to positions not requiring the higher ranks.

b.                  Appointments:  Arthur Burge received the following appointments during his time in service:

 8. MILITARY AND CIVILIAN TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS  

a.  Military Training: Arthur Burge received the following military training during his time in service:

   b.                  Civilian Qualifications:  Arthur Burge earned the following qualifications prior to and during his time in service.

9.  MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS  

            Arthur Burge received the following medals, awards and decorations during his time in service:

             The medals are shown in Figure 13 below, in their order of precedence from left to right, as worn by Arthur Burge:

• Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (M.B.E.).
• British Empire Medal (B.E.M.).
• 1939-45 Star.
• Africa Star with clasp [8^TH ARMY].
• Italy Star.
• War Medal with M.I.D. oak leaf.
• General Service Medal, 1918-1964 with clasp [ARABIAN PENINSULA].
• Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.
• The Efficiency Medal with bar [MILITIA].

Figure 13.  The Medals of Colonel Arthur Vincent Burge, MBE, BEM, R.E.
(Photograph courtesy of Richard Burge)  

10.  RELEASE FROM SERVICE  

            Colonel Arthur Vincent Burge, MBE, BEM, R.E, retired on 29 June 1979.  His total service has been approximated as shown in the tables below:

 11.  POST SERVICE LIFE  

            After retiring from the Army, Arthur and his family settled at 6 Corinium Gate in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, a lovely house build on the old Roman wall surrounding Cirencester. 

Figure 14.  The Burge Residence at 6 Corinium Gate, Cirencester.
(Image courtesy of Google Earth)

            In 1979 he became the County Supervisor for the census in Cirencester.  In 1981 he took on the job of County Supervisor for organizing the census for Gloucestershire, North Avon and North Wiltshire and in 1989 he was the Regional Consultant for the Royal Tournament.

            Arthur was a man who believed in service.  During the years of his retirement he was:

• President of the Severnside Chapter of the Royal Engineers Association.
• First Chairman of the Cotswold division of the police crime prevention panel.
• The Corinium Probus chairman.
• President of the Gloucestershire branch of the Royal Engineers Association.
• President of the Gloucestershire Branch of the Royal Military Police Association.
• The Emergency Adviser for Cirencester.
• A member of the Dunkirk Veterans Association.

            In addition to all of these activities and responsibility he found time to work at his hobby of calligraphy.

            Arthur Vincent Burge died at his home in Cirencester on 30 January 1991 at the age of 71.  According to his obituary he died as a result of angina and diabetes.  His funeral service was held on 7 February 1991 at the Cirencester Parish Church, St. John the Baptist.  After the service the family hosted a gathering at the Officers Mess at the Duke of Gloucester Barracks in South Cerney where Arthur had last served before his retirement.  A description of Arthur’s funeral service is contained in ADDENDUM No. 1 below.  It was written by Arthur’s wife to the author.  As Rae Burge describes in her letter, there were:

             Six soldiers to carry the coffin with a young Lieutenant behind.  On the Union Jack were his RE Colonel’s hat, and his Military Police red beret, and his medals.  Ex-Military Police formed a guard of honour in their red hats at the entrance to the church, and the standards of the RE’s, the Military Police & the Dunkirk Veterans. 

            Arthur’s Memorial Service program is contained in ADDENDUM No. 2.  

Figure 15.   Cirencester Parish Church, St. John the Baptist.
(Image courtesy of Ralph Wilkins)  

12.  ADDITIONAL FAMILY INFORMATION  

Marriage

            Arthur married Elsie Rae Kimberley in Wellington, Shropshire on 21 March 1953 while he was a Lieutenant in the Royal Corps of Military Police in the process of transferring to the Royal Engineers. 

            Rae, as she was known to family and friends, was the daughter of Howard Kimberley (1892-1962) and Edith Alice Kimberley (née Silvester) (1890-1970).  Rae had one brother, FAA/FX. 95538 Petty Officer Airman Arthur Howard Kimberley, Royal Navy (1924-1944) who was killed in action in the Arctic Sea aboard HMS Formidable on 18 July 1944.  See ADDENDUM NO. 3.

            Rae was 24 years old when she married Arthur and he was a 33-year old veteran of World War II.  While this was meant to be a happy occasion, Arthur’s father, Arthur Robert Burge, died in Cardiff on 30 November 1953, just eight months after the wedding. 

Figure 16.  Arthur and Rae’s Wedding Photograph.
(Photograph courtesy of the Burge sons)

The Burge Children

Richard David Arthur Burge

            Arthur and Rae had two sons.  Their first son, Richard David Arthur Burge, was born in Hong Kong on 5 April 1958.

Figure 17.  Richard David Arthur Burge.
(Photograph courtesy of the Burge family)

            Richard David Arthur Burge is the chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce. Previously he has had a career in the not-for-profit industry and government sectors, having held chief executive roles in various organizations since 1995. He has also intermittently had portfolio careers and run his own companies.

            After primary school in Cardiff and north London (where his father was posted), he went in 1969 to Haberdashers' Adams Grammar School in Newport Shropshire.  Richard went to Hatfield College, Durham University from 1977-80, the first member of his family to go to university.

            Richard taught biology at King Edward’s School Witley (1980-83) and then went to Sri Lanka as a Commonwealth Scholar until 1986. He joined the British Council in June 1986 where he served in the Overseas Career Service for ten years.  He was Assistant Representative in Lagos Nigeria until March 1990, then had a series of posts in the UK ending up as Head of Africa and Middle East Operations for three years until September 1995.

            Richard was the first Director General of the Zoological Society of London form 1995-1999. He was noted by journalists and the government of London as being responsible for saving the London Zoo from bankruptcy during his time as Director General.  He then was given the position of Chief executive of the Countryside Alliance.  He then spent some time in private business working with London and Continental Railways on "Project Galaxie" and the Eurotunnel until being appointed as Chief Executive of Wilton Park (an FCO executive agency) from 2009-2017. He was then chief executive of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council until 2019.  In February 2020, he became chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  From 2003-2009, Richard Burge had a portfolio of part-time paid appointments.  He was Strategy Director for the African Parks Foundation and a Commissioner for Rural Communities.  He is the founding partner of ESG Validation.

            Richard has served a trustee and Board member of a number of charities and not-for-profit organizations including  the Iwokrama Rainforest Research Centre, the Association of Chief Executives in the Voluntary Sector (ACEVO), The Association of Chief Executives (of government executive agencies), the European Zoo Association, the Council of Durham University (including chair of the University Ethics Committee,  Vice Chair of Bridewell Royal Hospital (King Edward’s School Witley), a Commissioner for Commonwealth Scholarships, trustee of the Television Trust for the Environment, and chair of the Global Health Assurance Partnership (based in Geneva), and Treasurer of St John-at-Hackney in London.  He is currently a Trustee of VERTIC, a Court Assistant of the Worshipful Company of World Traders, and has been chair of Council at Hatfield College Durham University for 10 years.

            Richard married Karen Jayne Bush in 1980.  They live in West Sussex and have two children, Frances and Edward.[40]

Jeremy Howard Burge

            Arthur and Rae’s second son, Jeremy Howard Burge was born in Yemen on 5 July 1962.  He was born in Yemen while his father was serving in Aden just prior to the Aden Emergency (Radfan Uprising).  .

Figure 18.  Jeremy Howard Burge.
(Photograph courtesy of the Burge family tree)  

            Jeremy received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Nottingham.   Jeremy is married and has two children and currently lives in Toronto, Canada. 

            His career history includes a number of positions at Capital Group Research, Inc., including Analyst and Portfolio Manager.  He is presently Senior Vice President of Capital Guardian Canada, Inc.  His Board Memberships include Capital International Asset Management Canada, Inc. and Capital Guardian Canada, Inc.

13. EPILOGUE

            My wife and I visited with Arthur and Rae Burge at their home in Cirencester in 1985 and 1988.  I visited them by myself in 1990 while I was in the U.K. researching information for a possible book on the Falklands War.  During our 1985 visit Arthur arranged a reception in our honor at the Officers’ Mess at Mill Hill.  Our visit also included a tour of the Postal and Courier Headquarters at Mill Hill.  Knowing my interest in the history of the South Wales Borderers and being of Welsh ancestry himself, Arthur volunteered to drive me to Brecon in Wales where the SWB museum was located.  Today that museum is The Regimental Museum of the Royal Welsh.[41]  I can recall that on the way to Brecon Arthur suggested that we stop in a small town for lunch.  He had a smile on his face as we entered the pub and said to me “don’t be surprised if you cannot understand a word of what anyone in here is saying.”  Now I had been in Wales long enough to know that the Welsh language was difficult for an American to understand even in a big city like Cardiff, but the language being spoken in this pub in this little town just south of Brecon was truly beyond me – and the men were speaking English when they spoke to me!  I knew that I could order beer without a problem, but I left the rest of the order for lunch to Arthur.

            The museum was all that I had hoped it would be, and more.  I was able to walk down narrow aisles between glass covered display-cases filled with medals from numerous campaigns that had been earned by men of the regiment.  There were hundreds of them!  In addition there were uniforms worn by the regiment at various times in its history as well as hundreds of helmet plates, cap and collar badges.  And there were regimental colours, a dozen of them that had been carried by the South Wales Borderers in many campaigns.    The museum was a military historians dream.  It also was rather less secure than I thought it should be.  Sure enough, within two years of my visit there was a break in and numerous medals of the regiment, including many from the Zulu War of 1879, had been stolen.

Figure 19.  Arthur Outside the Entrance to the South Wales Borderers Museum in Brecon, Wales, 1985.
(Photograph by the author)  

            Arthur and Rae always were delightful hosts.  They took us on tours of Cirencester and my wife and Rae went to visit Oxford while Arthur and I were at Brecon.  Whenever we visited, Arthur and I would discuss his military career as well as mine and he would always express a great deal of interest in my latest research projects.  In that regard we constantly were in contact during the 1970s and 1980s by mail (no internet yet) and he would supply me with many documents and books to assist me in my research work.  What started our friendship was a research project on a Royal Engineers officer by the name of Griggs who served during the Great War in the Royal Engineers Postal Service.  When I finished the Griggs project and it was bound, I sent a copy to Arthur.  He was so impressed with the work that he showed it to the commander of the R.E. Postal and Courier Service at Mill Hill.  From that point on our friendship flourished as he introduced me to more officers of the Royal Engineers who were willing to help me with my research work.

Figure 20.  Arthur and Rae in the Foreground, the Author in the Background, 1988.
(Photograph taken by the author’s wife)  

            It is interesting to note that the woman in red seated behind Rae was the wife of the 2^nd Postal and Courier Regiment at that time.  This is the same unit that Arthur commanded when he retired. 

            As previously mentioned, Arthur passed away in 1991.  Rae visited me and my wife on 25 April 1992 at our home in Columbia, Maryland.  She was on a tour visiting Washington, DC and she took a day from the tour to spend with us.  That was the last time that we saw her.  She died in Cirencester in June of 1996 at the age of 66.

ADDENDUM NO. 1  

Letter from Rae Burge to the Author  

Mrs Arthur Burge

6 Corinium Gate

Cirencester

Glos GL7 2PX

Dear Jo Ann and Ed,  

Thank you for writing to me when Arthur died on 30^th January.  The kind words and expressions of sympathy have brought a great deal of comfort to me and my family.  

For me and our sons, Richard and Jeremy, he provided a home full of kindness, thoughtfulness and much love.  I feel privileged to have been married for 38 years to a truly gentle man.  Who could ask for more.  

            Thank you for all the extremely nice and generous things you wrote – he would have appreciated them, as I do.  

            From the first contact with you he seemed to have some bond, because he so admired your dedication to your research, and the resulting success.  

            Please keep in touch, especially if you come to England again.  

            He had a nice funeral – the church was packed with Army friends and representatives of the Council & Police, etc.  Six soldiers to carry the coffin with a young Lieutenant behind.  On the Union Jack were his RE Colonel’s hat, and his Military Police red beret, and his medals.  Ex-Military Police formed a guard of honour in their red hats at the entrance to the church, and the standards of the RE’s, the Military Police & the Dunkirk Veterans.  

            And he said ‘no tears’ because he’d had the career he wanted and he had been happy – what else could he want in life.   

            We had his favourite Welsh music at the beginning and end of the service, then a reception afterwards at the officers’ mess, Duke of Gloucesters Barracks, near here.   

            I wish you could have been here.  

            My two sons have been wonderful – Jeremy is now back in Canada, but put my affairs in order before he left.  Richard is in Brussels at present.  

            I understand you have made a contribution to the Talking Newspaper for the Blind in memory of Arthur – it was one of his local interests – many thanks.  

            As for me, I’m keeping busy – I have over 200 letters to answer, but people have been so kind and supportive.  I feel as though part of me has been amputated, and know that I have to go through the various stages of grief – there are no short cuts.  I miss the laughter of our house and the cuddles we had every day and his constant care of me, but I know that I have been incredibly lucky to have had so much happiness & fun right to the end.  

            Remember him with affection.  

                        Yours ever,  

                                    Rae

ADDENDUM NO. 2  

Figure 21.  Cover of the Memorial Service Program.
(Courtesy of Rae Burge)

Figure 22.  Order of Service, Hymn and The Sentences of the Memorial Service Program.
(Courtesy of Rae Burge)

Figure 23.  Hymn, Lesson and Address of the Memorial Service Program.
(Courtesy of Rae Burge)

Figure 24.  Closing Hymn of the Memorial Service Program.
(Courtesy of Rae Burge)

ADDENDUM NO. 3  

FAA/FX. 95538 Petty Officer Airman
ARTHUR HOWARD KIMBERLEY,
Royal Navy

Figure 25.  Arthur Howard Kimberley.
(Photograph courtesy of the Burge web site)  

            Arthur Howard Kimberley had been Mentioned in Despatches for his service aboard HMS Formidable in 1944.  His Mention in Despatches was published in the London Gazette of 5 September 1944 for his service in Operation LOMBARD, air operations off the coast of Norway. 

            Arthur served as a Telegraphist Air Gunner 3^rd Class in 830 Squadron, a squadron equipped with Barracuda II torpedo and dive bombers.   The Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber designed by Fairey Aviation. It was the first aircraft of this type operated by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA) to be fabricated entirely from metal.  Operation “Lombard” was the British diversionary naval operation against German shipping along the north coast of German-occupied Norway, in the area of Ålesund, to distract German attentions from north-western France and so support the imminent 'Overlord' (28 May/2 June 1944).

             Arthur Howard Kimberley was killed in action in the Arctic Sea on 18 July 1944.  On 17 July 1944 HMS Formidable Launched unsuccessful air attacks on German battleship TIRPITZ in Altenfjord with HM Aircraft Carriers INDEFATIGABLE and FURIOUS covered by HM Battleship DUKE OF YORK. Tirpitz was obscured by a smoke screen after early warning of the British approach.  Kimberley was killed when his aircraft was destroyed while attacking the German battleship.  

.

Figure 28.  HMS Formidable, 1942.
(Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia)

REFERENCES

Correspondence  

1. Email dated 19 March 2020.  Ralph Wilkins, ex-Royal Military Police to Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis, re: 7685227 Sergeant Major Arthur Vincent Burge, MBE, BEM.

2. Email dated 21 March 2020.  Colonel (Retired) Jeremy T. Green, OBE, Regimental Secretary Royal Military Police, re: 7685227 Sergeant Major Arthur Vincent Burge, MBE, BEM.

3. Email dated 2 April 2020.  Colonel Richard Callaghan, Curator, Royal Military Police Museum to Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis, re: 7685227 Sergeant Major Arthur Vincent Burge, MBE, BEM.

4. Email dated 8 November 2021.  Colonel Richard Callaghan, Curator, Royal Military Police Museum to Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis, re: Order of Battle, 105 Provost Company in World War 2.

Documents  

1. FINNEGAN, T.P.  Fifty Years of PULHHEEMS—The British Army’s System of Medical Classification.  Annals Academy of Medicine, September 2001, Vol. 30 No.5, p. 556.
2. First Day Cover.  BRITISH POSTAGE STAMPS: British Forces Postal Service.
3. Funeral Service Pamphlet.

Family Trees  

1. Burge Family Tree

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/49791028/person/13023848623/facts?_phsrc=iWN965&_phstart=successSource  

Internet Web Sites  

1. Aircrew Remembered.

https://www.aircrewremembered.com/RoyalNavyFleetAirArmDatabase/?s=900&q=Air%20Gunner&qand=&exc1=&exc2=&search_type=&search_only=&o=Name

2. Bloomburg: Jeremy Howard Burge.  https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/1741158

3. British Expeditionary Force Order of Battle (1940).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Expeditionary_Force_order_of_battle_(1940)  

4. British Military History.

https://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/docs-services-corps-military-police/  

5. Cardiff Post Office: Westgate Street.

British Post Office Buildings and Their Architects : an Illustrated Guide  

6. Hidden London.

https://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/mill-hill-east/  

7. Imperial War Museum: Private Papers of Colonel A.V. Burge

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1030029457  

8. Inglis Barracks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inglis_Barracks  

9. Military Provost Staff Corps.

https://www.corpsofmilitarypolice.org/soldier/147/  

10. Richard Burge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Burge  

11. Richard David Arthur Burge.

https://en.everybodywiki.com/Richard_David_Arthur_Burge  

12. The Telegraph

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8407205/Weird-and-wonderful-British-stamps-in-pictures.html?image=12  

London Gazette  

1. The London Gazette, 11 October 1935, p. 6383.
2. The London Gazette, 13 August 1937, p. 5198.
3. Supplement to the London Gazette, 13 January 1944, pp. 258 and 272.
4. Supplement to the London Gazette, 24 August 1944, pp. 3926 and 3937.
5. Supplement to the London Gazette, 19 April 1945, p. 2072.
6. Supplement to the London Gazette, 15 February 1949, p. 814.
7. Supplement to the London Gazette, 2 February 1951.
8. Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 October 1954.
9. Supplement to the London Gazette, 13 September 1960, p. 6226.
10. Supplement to the London Gazette, 10 April 1962.
11. Supplement to the London Gazette, 13 August 1963, p. 6767.
12. Supplement to the London Gazette, 1 January 1964, p. 7.
13. Supplement to the London Gazette, 2 January 1968, p. 74.
14. Supplement to the London Gazette, 21 January 1975, p. 864.
15. Supplement to the London Gazette, 24 July 1979, p. 9349.

Medal Rolls  

1. Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.
2. Efficiency Medal (Militia): WO102/37.

Newspapers  

1. Obituary.
2. Retirement announcement (newspaper): “Time to Think about our Responsibilities.”

Registers  

1. England and Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007.
2. 1939 England and Wales Register.
3. England and Wales, Civil Marriage Index, 1916-2007.
4. England and Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007.

War Diaries  

1. 105 Provost Company: WO 170/3548.
2. 112 Provost Company: WO 170/8869.

War Office Records  

1. WO 373/72/924 Recommendation for Award (BEM) for Burge, Arthur Vincent: Sergeant, Royal Military Police.
2. WO 373/170/194 Recommendation for Award (MBE) for Burge, Arthur Vincent: Major, Royal Engineers.
3. Army Form E. 501.  Attestation in the Territorial Army.

Description on Enlistment

Statement of Services

Military History Sheet

4. Army Form B200_B Statement of Services.
5. Army Form B199a.  Record of Service – Officers.
6. Army Form B.2606.

ENDNOTES