Interesting Stories and Notes

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Albert Michael Burgar joined up for the First World War in 1914 when he was 16 years old as a gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery. He died of wounds on 19th March 1916 at 18 years of age.  Below is the entry on the The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.

In Memory of
Gunner A BURGAR

53075, 27th Siege Bty., Royal Garrison Artillery
who died
on 19 March 1916
Son of Mr. J. H. Burgar, of 10, King St., Higher Broughton, Manchester.
Remembered with honour
MERICOURT-L'ABBE COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION

Mericourt-l'Abbe is about 6 kilometres south-east of Albert on the road to Amiens. The Communal Cemetery is a little east of the village and the Extension is to the south of the Communal Cemetery.

In the early summer of 1915, Commonwealth forces relieved French troops on this part of the front and Mericourt-Ribemont Station became a railhead. The extension to the communal cemetery at Mericourt was begun in August 1915 and was used chiefly by field ambulances until July 1916, when it was closed until the German advance of March 1918. From March 1918 to August 1918 it was used by units engaged in the defence of Amiens. After the Armistice, Rows G and K of Plot III were added when isolated graves (only one of which could be identified) were brought in from the battlefields north-east of Mericourt. There are now 411 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War in the extension. 73 of the burials are unidentified and there are special memorials to two casualties buried in the German cemetery at Clery-sur-Somme whose graves could not be found. The extension also contains 11 German burials. The extension was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

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