Cliff Burge

Clifford Charles "Cliff" Burge (27 April 1892 – 14 August 1918) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League.

Cliff Burge
Enlistment photograph of Burge
Personal information
Full name Clifford Charles Burge
Date of birth (1892-04-27)27 April 1892
Place of birth Rushworth, Victoria
Date of death 14 August 1918(1918-08-14) (aged 26)
Place of death Villers-Bretonneux, France
Original team(s) Elsternwick Juniors
Height 6 ft (183 cm)
Weight 12 st 6 lb (174 lb; 79 kg)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1914 Melbourne 5 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1914.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

He was killed in action in World War I in France.[1]

Family

The son of Charles Abraham Burge (1863-1939),[2] and Emily Jane Burge, née Morris (1861-1947).[3][4]

He had two brothers, Trevor Robert William Burge (1895-1953),[5] and Maxwell Lewis Burge (1899-1976), and two sisters, Emily Blanche Burge (1894-1895) and Emily May Burge (1897-1989).

Education

He completed his education at Melbourne High School, where he was a member of the school's First XVIII.[6]

Football

He played five senior games for Melbourne in 1914. He was already in the army by the start of the 1915 season.

In May 1919, an unidentified former Melbourne footballer, wrote to the football correspondent of The Argus as follows:

"In 1914 the Melbourne football team, after its junction with the University, was a fine team, and succeeded in reaching the semi-finals.
Out of this combination the following players enlisted and served at the front:—
C. Lilley (seriously wounded), J. Hassett, H. Tomkins (severely wounded), J. Evans (seriously wounded), W. Hendrie, R. L. Park, J. Doubleday (died), A. Best, C. Burge (killed), C. (viz., A.) Williamson (killed), J. Brake, R. Lowell, E. Parsons (seriously wounded), A. M. Pearce (killed), F. Lugton (killed), A. George, C. Armstrong, P. Rodriguez (killed), J. Cannole (viz., Connole), A. Fraser (seriously wounded), T. Collins.
These are all players of note, and in themselves would have formed a very fine side, but there is only one of them playing at the present time, viz., C. Lilley, who, as a matter of fact, takes the field under some disability owing to severe wounds which he received on service." — The Argus, 16 May 1919.[7]

Military service

He enlisted in the First AIF on 19 February 1915.[8][9] He was promoted to Second Lieutenant on 2 November 1917.

Death

Having fought at Gallipoli, and having survived a German gas attack in June 1918,[10] he was killed in action on 14 August 1918, aged 23, during fighting at Villers-Bretonneux, France, just three months before the end of hostilities.[11][12][13][14][15]

His (temporarily buried) remains were exhumed in 1920, and he was re-buried at the Villers–Bretonneux Military Cemetery.[16]

See also

Footnotes
  1. Hobbs (1984), p.160.
  2. Deaths: Burge, The Argus, (Friday, 14 July 1939), p.12.
  3. Marriage: Burge—Morris, The McIvor Times and Rodney Advertiser, (Thursday, 30 October 1890), p.2.
  4. Deaths: Burge, The Argus, (Wednesday, 22 January 1947), p.2.
  5. World War I Service Record: Robert William Burge (221), National Archives of Australia.
  6. Demonwicki.
  7. 'Old Boy', "Football: Notes and Comments", The Argus, (Friday, 16 May 1919), p.8.
  8. Service Record.]
  9. Amateur, "Football Gossip", The (Melbourne) Leader, (Saturday, 25 September 1915), p.20.
  10. Casualty List No.412.
  11. 429th Casualty List.
  12. Died on Service: Burge, The Argus, (Tuesday, 27 August 1918), p.1; Death: On Active Service: Burge, The McIvor Times and Rodney Advertiser, (Thursday, 12 September 1918), p.2.
  13. Contents of letter to Burge's parents from Second Lieutenant Frank Steadman Hurrey: The Riponshire Advocate, (Saturday, 14 September 1918), p.3.
  14. In Memoriam: On Active Service: Burge, The Argus, (Monday, 14 August 1922), p.1.
  15. In Memoriam: On Active Service: Burge, The Argus, (Saturday, 14 August 1926), p.13.
  16. Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

References
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