David Luther Burgess

Who was David Luther Burgess?

David Luther Burgess was a World War I flying ace who, in 1926, was the sole challenger to Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in a by-election held in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

Born in Kleinburg, Ontario, Burgess moved to Saskatchewan and became a farmer. He enlisted in the Saskatchewan Regiment during World War I and held the rank of lieutenant. In 1917, he was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps as an observer/gunner with No 25 Squadron flying the DH-4 bomber from May to October 1917. In conjunction with his pilot Capt. James Fitz-Morris, the duo scored seven victories and was awarded the Military Cross for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in aerial fighting and on photography".

Mackenzie King had suffered a personal defeat in the 1925 federal election losing his riding of York North in Ontario and needed to win in a by-election in order to re-enter the Canadian House of Commons. Prince Albert Liberal MP Charles McDonald was persuaded to step aside in order to create a vacancy for King.

The Prince Albert by-election would normally have been a formality and the Conservative Party declined to enter a candidate as did the Progressives.