| Rank | Major (MiD) |
| Unit # | Essex Scottish Regiment, formerly of the 1st Battalion Kent Regt. |
| Resident | Wallaceburg |
Of Wallaceburg. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Burgess of Wallaceburg. The husband of Margaret (nee O’Flynn) living at 616 Elizabeth St., Wallaceburg, they had two sons Jack and Fraser and a daughter Peggy.
A native of Wallaceburg, he attended Central Public School and Wallaceburg high School. Attended Osgoode Hall, Toronto and practiced as a Barrister with J. S. Fraser K.C. He would become a senior member of the firm Burgess & Clement. For several years he was also the town assessor and solicitor.
Jack joined the Kent regt. in Chatham several years before the war. He served as a Lieut. and was promoted to the rank of Captain. With the start of the war Captain Burgess went ‘active service’. He served in Canada with the 1st Kents for two years before going overseas. With the 1st Bn. then Captain Burgess had been on leave to visit his wife and family. WN 9/08/42 Captain Burgess was reported on leave at his home with his wife and family. WN 8/10/42
He was posted to the Essex Scottish and was then promoted to Major in July of 1944.
An newspaper article “Fight Skirmish Near Old Fort” by Maurice Desjardins (CP War Correspondent) 23/09/44, regarding Major Telford Steele also mentions Major Jack Burgess of Wallaceburg, ON.
“We are doing a job here but we still keep in mind the magnificent work of other Canadians in the Pas de Calais area.” A month later Major Burgess would follow Major Steel to the hospital and the loss of his leg.
Wounded in action in November of 1944 so seriously that his right leg required amputation as a result. Major Burgess was reported arriving at Halifax aboard the hospital ship “Lady Nelson” from there he would be transferred to hospital in London, ON. It was believed at the time he arrived as a ‘stretcher case’. CDN 20/01/44.
The WN 28/12/44 reported that Major Burgess was resting at his home on Elizabeth Street. “It’s mighty good to be home for Christmas.” The Major had been wounded over three months ago, and would only be home for two weeks before he would return to hospital for treatment. He was reported to been having a “grand time with family and friends”.
Reported returned from overseas service attending a Wallaceburg Kinsmen ‘Welcome Home’ dinner CDN. 24/01/45. The CDN 29/03/45 reported that Major John W. Burgess, then recuperating from wounds and a patient at Christie Street Hospital in Toronto had been decorated for gallantry in action with a “Mentioned in Dispatches”.
Jack passed away in 1990. (RCL-LP)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Sources | CDN (20-01-1944), CDN (24-01-1945), CDN (3/08/40), KCFA, IODE(P), W-RH, WHSSC |
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