King’s Dragoon Guards again served in the trenches on May 31, 1915, relieving the 3rd Dragoon Guards at the Chateau Hooge at 11 p.m.s The regiment was heavily shelled on June 1st and 2nd by the Germans. During this battle, Burdett was the squadron sergeant major for C Squadron. The Germans finally attacked the chateau from the north and east on the evening of the 2nd. The King’s Dragoon Guards drove off several attacks while suffering casualties of 34 killed and 45 wounded. Burdett was commended for his gallantry during this battle, and eventually was mentioned in General Sir Douglas Haig’s despatch of November 13, 1916 (Figure 2). Regimental Sergeant Major J. Brewer was wounded during the engagement and, as a result, Burdett was promoted temporary Regimental Sergeant Major. Burdett’s appointment to Regimental Sergeant Major was made permanent on December 2, 1915 when Brewer was commissioned as an officer.

Over the next two years, the King’s Dragoon Guards saw no major action but served nine brief stints in the trenches before receiving orders to transfer to India on October 1, 1917. They embarked from Marseilles in October 1917 and arrived at Bombay on November 20, 1917. Burdett received the Meritorious Service Medal in the January 1, 1918 London Gazette "in recognition of valuable services rendered with the Armies in the Field during the present war." Burdett’s medal index card indicates that he received the Meritorious Service Medal for "devotion" to duty for his service in France. Coincidentally, Burdett received the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on the same day. Although the Great War was over for Burdett, he campaigned twice more as Regimental Sergeant Major before retiring.

The Afghan army invaded India on May 2, 1919. The 17 officers and 360 other ranks of the King’s Dragoon Guard mobilized on May 6, 1919, arriving in Peshawar on the morning on the 8th. Discovering a potential uprising in the making, the regiment occupied the city’s gates and organized mounted patrols to protect the walls. They remained in the city until ordered to march into Afghanistan on 11 May through the Kyber Pass as part of the 1st Cavalry Brigade. The brigade repeatedly skirmished with the enemy until ordered to withdraw on the 16th. During the withdrawal, they sustained casualties of one officer killed and one wounded, three other ranks killed, five died of wounds and twenty-five wounded. The King’s Dragoon Guards conducted patrols the following months until a peace treaty was signed on August 8, 1919. For this service, Burdett received the India General Service Medal with Afghanistan N.W. E 1919 clasp.

The King’s Dragoon Guards departed India, landed in Iraq on January 26th, and arrived at their camp in Baghdad on February 4, 1920. The regiment departed for their summer camp on April 21st, but were ordered back to Baghdad on July 12th to quell a rebellion. The regiment conducted numerous patrols from July to October, although they saw only minor action. They were ordered home on November 5th, and arrived in Southampton on December 28, 1920 with a strength of 16 officers and 146 other ranks. For this service, Burdett received the General Service Medal with Iraq clasp.

Burdett was discharged from active service on November 9, 1920, while traveling home with the regiment (Figure 3). Burdett enlisted in the Cheshire Yeomanry as a Squadron Sergeant Major on March 16, 1921 and was discharged on March 15, 1923.

Based on his service with the 5th Dragoon Guards and 1st The King’s Dragoon Guards, Burdett received nine officially impressed medals (Figure 4):

1. Queen’s South Africa Medal 1899-1902, three clasps: Belfast, Orange Free State, Natal

2. King’s South Africa Medal, two clasps: South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902

3. 1914 Star 4. British War Medal 5. Victory Medal with Mention in Despatches

emblem 6. India General Service Medal 1908-1935, with

clasp: Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919 7. General Service Medal 1918-1962, with clasp:

Iraq 8. Army Meritorious Service Medal, G.V.R. 9. Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal,

G.V.R.

Incredibly, seven of the medals were earned from 1914 to 1920, a span of only six years. Although his active service was over, Burdett was commended for bravery on at least three occasions after his retirement.

On October 29, 1921, the Liverpool Chief Constable, E Caldwell, thanked Burdett for having "rendered valuable assistance to a Constable of this Force who was struggling with a violent prisoner in Sir Thomas Street" on October 18, 1921. On June 12, 1924, the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society thanked Burdett (Figure 5) "for courageously stopping a runaway horse attached to a lorry in Great Howard Street on the fifth of June 1924."

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Figure 4: Burdett’s medal group.

Figure 5: Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society Certificate awarded to Regimental Sergeant Major Burdett.

The Ministry of Works and Buildings, the County Court, Liverpool, and the House of Lords commended Burdett, his wife, and her sister for their assistance during a Liverpool air raid. On March 12, 1941, the County Court Building was truck by numerous incendiary bombs. A team of Fire Watchers began to extinguish the blaze. The team was greatly assisted in their effort by Burdett. As stated in the official report:

It would be unfair to differentiate between the members of the team all of whom worked so bravely, but it should be recorded that Mr. Burdett whose services as guide to difficult places in the building and his unflagging energy certainly helped to save the situation.

There are no records available to indicate whether Burdett received additional medals but it seems likely that he did not. Still, it possible that he received some recognition (such as the World War II Defence Medal) for the above service.

Bibliography: Michael Mann. The Regimental History of the lst’ The Queen’s

Dragoon Guards, 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, 1993. Major Ralph Legge Pomeroy. The Story of a Regiment of Horse. Being the Regimental History

from 1685 to 1922 of the 5th Princess Charlotte of Wales’ Dragoon Guards, William Blackwood and Sons, 1922.

TheAnglo-Boer War Anniversary, Spink’s, October 20.21 1999. Records held at The 1 st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards Museum.

Vol. 57, No. 3 27

Degree Badges of the Military Order of the Serpent

George G. Kane

At the birth of the 20th century, fraternal societies were a large factor in the lives of many Americans. After the American civil war, fraternal societies exploded on the American scene. A large portion of the population had participated in a brutal five-year war that had torn the nation apart, and brought large sections of the population together for self-preservation. During and immediately after the civil war, military fraternal societies began to appear throughout the country. Many of these societies were nothing more than lobbyists for veterans’ rights. Government pensions and veteran preference for government jobs were their standard. Many were active in charity, aiding war widows and orphans. In contrast to these issues, many societies had sub-groups whose main purpose was entertainment. The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) had the Grand Army Clubs; the Veterans of Foreign Wars had the Military Order of the Cootie; the American Legion had the 40 & 8 Society; and the United Spanish War Veterans (USWV) had the Military Order of the Serpent (MOS). Of all these sub- societies, the Military Order of the Serpent was the most bizarre.

The founding of the Military Order of the Serpent actually predated the United Spanish War Veterans by a few months. The first performance of the Military Order of the Serpent rite occurred January 1, 1904 in Cleveland, Ohio. On April 18, 1904, the National Army and Navy Spanish War Veterans (SWV), The National Association Spanish American War Veterans (SAWV) and the National Encampment Servicemen of the Spanish War (SMSW) combined to form the United Spanish War Veterans. In 1906, the Legion of Spanish War Veterans (LSWV) joined the United Spanish War Veterans. Its membership base was expanded in 1908 when the Veteran Army of the Philippines (VAP) also merged with the United Spanish War Veterans. A sixth society, the Veterans of the Hispano-American War, merged with the United Spanish War Veterans in 1904, but little is known of this society. Veterans of the China Relief Expedition (CRE) of 1900-01 (Boxer Rebellion) were admitted to membership in the 1920’s. China Relief Expedition veterans were linked by pension legislation to the United Spanish War Veterans. Many of the China Relief Expedition veterans were also veterans of the Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection. Spanish American War nurses were also admitted to membership in 1926.

Figure 1: Lieutenant James C. Gillmore, United States Navy.

(From McClure’s Magazine, August 1900)

The Military Order of the Serpent germinated from a single incident during the Philippine Insurrection of 1899-1902. The United States Navy sent Naval Lieutenant James C. Gillmore (Figure 1) and thirty men into the interior of the Philippines to capture the rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo. Unfortunately, Filipino tribesmen captured this naval contingent. These "Savages" forced Lieutenant Gillmore and his party through the ordeal of becoming members of their tribe. This tribe was a member of a secret society called the Katipunan. The society had been created by Filipino, Chinese and Malaysian tribes in the early 19th century. The beliefs of the Katipunan centered on their worship of the Great Snake, Khatee Puna. When the men were rescued unharmed and returned to Manila, news of their ordeal spread. Many of the men reenacted the tribal rituals for their comrades. These stories and reenactments would become the basis for the ritual of the Military Order of the Serpent.

At least that’s how the Military Order of the Serpent told the story. Lieutenant Gillmore authored an article that was published in the August and September 1900 issues of McClure’s Magazine. On April 12, 1899, Gillmore, "the navigating Officer" on the USS Yorktown, commanded a boat that was sent to scout the Biler River.

The last company of Spanish soldiers left on Luzon Island was besieged in a church in the town of Biler at the mouth of that river. The siege had begun in June of 1898 and

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