Arthur Robert Burton was born in 1872, the son of General Edmond Francis Burton. He was commissioned into the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in July 1892. He transferred to the Hyderabad Contingent on 1 Dec 1893 and took part in the Tirah Campaign of 1897-8 attached to the 2/4th Gurkhas. He was Cantonment Magistrate, Baroda, and Railway Magistrate 1st class from 1908 to 1912. He served in the Malakand Movable Column in 1914-15. He led a recruiting tour in 1916 and also served in Muscat. He was on the Northwest Frontier with the 94th Russell’s Infantry, in 1916-17. He was officiating HBM Consul in Muscat in 1917. But in January 1918 the regiment went to Mesopotamia and Lt-Colonel Burton suffered from pneumonia. He died on 24 Jan 1918.
Arthur came from a military family; he was the eighth of 9 brothers, born between 1858 and 1874, who served in the army. His wife, Florence Evelyne Hood Burton was the daughter of Brigade Surgeon Trehane Symons. They lived at ‘Trevalga’ in Cheltenham and had three children. Florence’s letter to an Indian officer of the 94th, Lieutenant Duli Chand, is reproduced here. It was written after WW1, and she refers to ‘General Burton’ who was Brigadier-General Reginald George Burton who also served in, and commanded, the 94th.
