BURROWS, Leonard C

Leonard Burrows was the son of Jane Burrows and lived at Greenfield Terrace, Hagley Road, Oldswinford, with his brother, William. He attended Oldswinford C of E School and was a member of St. Mary's Choir. When war came, he volunteered and joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. The battalion is not known, but it was possibly the 1/8th (Aston Battalion) which recruited in Stourbridge. This battalion went to France in early 1915 and was involved in the battle of Loos in September of that year. It is likely that he became a specialist machine gunner in the course of the 1915 campaign and was transferred to the newly formed Machine Gun Corps. He was attached to No. 5 Depot but at some point early in 1916 he developed a sickness. He was sent to Etaples military hospital where he died on the 13th April of spinal fever. He is buried in Etaples Hospital Cemetery (V A 17) and commemorated on the Stourbridge, Oldswinford church, Stourbridge Methodist church and Oldswinford C of E School Memorials. His brother, George, was killed in action on the 15th April 1918 and is commemorated on the Amblecote Memorial.