Private Gilbert Burton

Private Gilbert Burton. 16th ( Canadian Scottish ) Battalion, Canadian Infantry. He was killed in action in Belgium on 13th June 1916, aged 26, during the Battle of Mount Sorrel. He was the son of John and Jane Burton of 43 Main Road, Tweedmouth and is commemorated on the Menin Gate, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium. The Battle was initiated by the Germans with an attack on the Canadian lines in an attempt to draw reserves away and disrupt the coming Somme Offensive. The Germans captured stretches of the front line but after several counterattacks the ground was recovered and the original lines re- established at a cost of some 8000 casualties.