Herbert Burden, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Herbert Burden

World War One deserter

Date of Birth: 22-Mar-1898

Place of Birth: Lewisham, England, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 21-Jul-1915

Profession: military personnel

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Herbert Francis Burden (22 March 1898–21 July 1915) was a soldier in the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War.
Born in 1898 in Lewisham, south east London, Burden is generally accepted as having lied about his age in order to enlist at the age of 16.
Having joined the 1st South Northumberland Fusiliers, he soon deserted, returned to London and joined the East Surrey Regiment, whom he also soon deserted.
Rejoining his old battalion, he was sent to France when the army believed him to be 19 years old, and he probably fought at the Battle of Bellewaarde Ridge in May 1915.
Having already gone absent without leave (AWOL) from his unit on multiple occasions, he left his post once again the following month—he said to see a colleague in the neighbouring regiment—but was captured and accused of desertion.
Found guilty, he was executed by firing squad two days later aged 17.
In 2001 his case, and his image, was the basis for a memorial statue in the National Memorial Arboretum to those who had been unfairly executed by twentieth-century standards, and five years later Burden and the other men were granted pardons by the British government.