Early life

Burge was a student at Marlborough College

Marlborough College

Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...

 before World War I. He joined the British Army early in the First World War, and won the Military Medal

Military Medal

The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....

 during Summer 1916 while serving in the ranks. He transferred into, and was commissioned in, the Royal Flying Corps

Royal Flying Corps

The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...

 in 1917.

World War I

Burge was appointed as a Flying Officer

Flying Officer

Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...

 while a temporary second lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 on probation on 24 May 1917. He was assigned to 64 Squadron as a Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a pilot. He scored his first aerial victory on 23 March 1918, when he destroyed a Fokker Dr.I

Fokker Dr.I

The Fokker Dr.I Dreidecker was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918...

 triplane fighter over Bourlon Wood. One week later, he and James Anderson Slater

James Anderson Slater

James Anderson Slater, MC and Bar, DFC was a British Flying Ace in World War I credited with 24 victories.-Involvement in World War 1:...

 shared in the destruction of a German two-seater reconnaissance airplane over Croisilles

Croisilles, Pas-de-Calais

Croisilles is a village and commune in the Pas-de-Calais department of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A small farming village located 8 miles south of Arras at the junction of the D5 and D9 roads...

, France. On 1 April, he destroyed an Albatros D.V

Albatros D.V

|-See also:-Bibliography:*Bennett, Leon. Gunning for the Red Baron. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-58544-507-X....

 fighter over Méricourt

Méricourt

Méricourt is the name of several communes in France:*Méricourt, Pas-de-Calais*Méricourt, Yvelines*Méricourt-en-Vimeu, in the Somme département*Méricourt-l'Abbé, in the Somme département*Méricourt-sur-Somme, in the Somme département...

. Promotion from lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 to temporary captain while on flight status came on 20 April 1918.

On 3 May 1918, Burge shared in the destruction of a Rumpler

Rumpler

The Rumpler Tropfenwagen was a car developed by Austrian engineer Edmund Rumpler.Rumpler, born in Vienna, was a designer of aircraft when on the 1921's Berlin car show he introduced the Tropfenwagen. It was to be the first streamlined car . The Rumpler had a Cw-value of only 0.28...

 recon plane over Mercatel

Mercatel

Mercatel is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Mercatel is situated south of Arras, at the junction of the D34 and the N17 roads.-Population:-Places of interest:...

. On 16 May, he scored twice in the same dogfight, destroying an Albatros D.V and driving another down out of control. On consecutive days, 20 and 21 May, he destroyed Halberstadt

Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke

Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke or Halberstadt was a German aircraft manufacturer. It was formed in April 1912 as a British-German joint venture under the name German Bristol works Flugzeuggesellschaft mbH in Halberstadt. Initially the plant produced Bristol Boxkites and Bristol Prier monoplanes, but...

 reconnaissance machines for victories seven and eight.

He would not score again until 19 July 1918, when he destroyed another Fokker triplane south of Lille

Lille

Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

. The next day, he, Edmund Tempest

Edmund Tempest

Captain Edmund Roger Tempest was a World War I flying ace credited with 17 aerial victories.His parents were Wilfrid Francis and Florence Helen O'Rourke Tempest. He returned from farming in Saskatchewan to join the service at the beginning of World War I. He transferred into the Royal Flying Corps....

, and another pilot cooperated to ruin a Rumpler over Drocourt

Drocourt, Pas-de-Calais

Drocourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:An ex-coalmining commune, now a light industrial and farming town, situated some southeast of Lens, at the junction of the D919, D40 and D47 roads....

. On 22 July 1918, he won for the last time, destroying an Albatros D.V over Harnes

Harnes

Harnes is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Harnes is an ex-coalmining and light industrial town situated some northeast of Lens, at the junction of the D162e and the D39...

. His final tally was six enemy airplanes destroyed solo, three more shared destructions, and two enemy fighter sent down out of control.

On 24 July 1918, Phillip Scott Burge was killed in action when his plane was set afire in midair. His conqueror is generally conceded to be Unteroffizier

Unteroffizier

Unteroffizier is both a specific military rank as well as a collective term for non-commissioned officers of the German military that has existed since the 19th century. The rank existed as a title as early as the 17th century with the first widespread usage occurring in the Bavarian Army of the...

Marat Schumm of Jasta 52. Burge was interred in Dud Corner Cemetery in Loos, Pas-de-Calais, France.

On 16 September 1918, Burge's award of the Military Cross was gazetted. It read:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. This officer is a brilliant fighting pilot, and has destroyed six enemy aeroplanes. His dash and determination when engaged in combat with the enemy, often numerically superior, have set a fine example to the remainder of his formation.

Reference

• Franks, Norman
  Norman Franks
  Norman Leslie Robert Franks is an English writer who specialises in aviation books on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II.-Biography:...
  
  . SE 5/5a Aces of World War I: Volume 78 of Aircraft of the Aces. Osprey Publishing, 2007. ISBN 184603180X, 9781846031809.

Endnotes

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