Service Number 1470863
Service Army
Battalion
Regiment Royal Artillery
Biography
John Cowburn Burgoyne was born late in 1919, the son of Harry Burgoyne and his wife, Mary Jane Burgoyne (Nee Moody), in New Wortley, near Leeds. Two years later, at the time of the 1921 census, Harry, Mary and John were living at Sunnyside in the Horsforth area of Leeds. John's father, Harry, was a secretary for Edmundsons Warehouse in Alexander Street, Leeds. Mary undertook 'home duties', while John was aged just 1 year, 7 months old.
Details are sparse about John's early life, but by the time of the National Registration in 1939, John's mother, Mary Jane Burgoyne, is recorded living at Low Gates, Langwith Wood, in Collingham. She was living with he widowed mother Emma Moody, but neither John, nor his father, Harry, are recorded and we have not found records for them at that time.
We believe that John Cowburn Burgoyne married Pamela M Laycock in early 1941.
We are not totally certain that we have identified the correct service for John Burgoyne, but given his unusual middle name, 'Cowburn', we think it is very likely that he attested into the Royal Artillery with a Army Number of 1470863. His Attestation book record shows that he either 'became ineffective' or transferred 'in the field' on the 20th June 1944, and he finally transferred to the Z class reserve on the 9th June 1946.
We have not yet identified the specific units of the Royal Artillery that he served with, but during the period of his military career John's father, Harry Burgoyne, died 1943 and was buried in Collingham.
After the war, electoral rolls show John moved, after a period back in the Collingham area, further east in Yorkshire, around Goole. In 1955 to around 1960 his address is given as Burton Salmon Poultry Farm. John Cowburn Burgoyne died in Scarborough on the 3rd March 2011.
Biography last updated 15 May 2023 12:59:05.
If you have any photographs or further details about this person we would be pleased to hear from you. Please contact us via: alan.berry@collinghamanddistrictwararchive.info