William Ernest Burchell was the eldest son of Edward and Mary Burchell of Dudley Road Post Office in Netherton, Worcestershire. 

At school, William acquired a fluency in French which later enabled him to act as an interpreter whilst in service with with the colours. 

On leaving school, William was employed by the London & North Western Railway (L&NWR) as a Junior Clerk, working at Dudley Port and Great Bridge stations before the war.

Outside of work, William was a devoted attendee at the Sweet Turf Baptist Church. 

Volunteering in March 1916, William specialised as a signaller; he first served with the 1st/8th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment before transferring to the 2nd/8th.

William Ernest Burchell was killed in action on the Steenbeek on the 27th of August 1917, aged twenty-one. His remains were never found or positively identified. Consequently, William's name appears on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing. He is also remembered on Dudley's civic war memorial in Priory Street, and on the memorials of two of the schools he attended in Dudley: the Higher Elementary school and Dudley Grammar.

William's name is also written in the Roll of Honour of the L&NWR. 

A special service in his memory was held at the Sweet Turf Baptist Church.

William was a bachelor. His younger brother, Pte F.V. Burchell, is thought to have survived the war, albeit wounded. 

(This story is based on his entry in the book “Dudley’s 1914-1918 War Memorial and the Men commemorated – 2nd Revised & Expanded Edition” by J. B. E. Hale. The book is published by Amazon, and there is also a Kindle version available.)