Bernard Burton

Hiya,

My great uncle Bernard Henry Burton died this week. He never spoke about his time in the army during the war. But I'm rather curious as to what he did. I've tried to search but with no great success. I know very little about where and with who he served. But I'm gonna put out here what I know and hope some wonderful person out here can help me. I know Bernard was a royal marine. I have a photo of him in the jacket with an Italy Star and other ww2 medals. He mentioned Italy, Cyprus, D-Day. He said he served on HMS Glenroy and HMS Nelson. His son remembers him mentioning royal marine sea service battery. I know all this info is very limited but I hope someone can help me. I have a holiday planned to the Normandy area in sept and would like to pay my respects in a approiate place.

Jen

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 08/04/2013 11:53:12

Hi Jen,
I'm so sorry to hear of your recent bereavement. We pray that Bernard May Rest In Peace.

There are a number of ways that you can find out a little more about Bernard's service during the War.
The first is quite simple - you can apply to the MoD for his Service Records - but this may take a wee while and you may not receive them before your holiday to Normandy.
If you do want to follow this route (and I do thoroughly recommend it) you need to know which service your Great Uncle served in - Army or Royal Marines. You mentioned both the Army and the Royal Marines in your post but I'm guessing that he was in the Royal Marines - which is actually a branch of the Royal Navy...

Below are the links to the appropriate forms which are fairly self-explanatory.
There is an administration fee of £30 but that will be waived for requests from those who were the spouse or civil partner of the subject at the time of death.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/142473/request_for_service_details_nok_application_part1_v5_1_.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/142477/request_for_service_details_rnrm_application_part2_1_.pdf

Another way which may give us an idea, and may help us point you in the direction you want, is for you to post the photo of him in his uniform on this Thread.

You say that he served on HMS Glenroy and HMS Nelson - this could mean that, although he might have been a Royal Marine, he may not necessarily have been a Royal Marine Commando...

It is a common misconception that all Royal Marines were Commandos (as they are today) - this is not the case and, in fact, it was the Army that formed the first Commando Units in 1940, but it wasn't until mid 1942 that a Royal Marine Battalion was converted to become a Commando Unit.
Even so, of the whole RM Corps, only nine RM battalions were converted to become Commandos.
In 1946, when the Army Commandos were disbanded, the Royal Marines took over the Commando Role and from that time all Royal Marines were trained to become Commandos...
However, those wartime Royal Marines that didn't become Commandos still had vital roles to play - the sea-borne Royal Marine detachments within the fleet offered the necessary military landing capability for the Navy's activities in a number of oceans. The Royal Marines were additionally committed to a Mobile Naval Base Defence Organisation (MNBDO). This force consisting of Infantry, Anti-Aircraft, Searchlight, Anti-Tank and other units. Other small specialist units were also formed and operated across the globe.

Any information you can give us - no matter how irrelevant it may seem to you - may help to provide answers to your questions...

Looking forward to hearing from you again soon,

nick

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 08/04/2013 10:24:08

Hi Jen

My condolences to you and all your family on the recent death of your Great Uncle.

Just to add a bit about the ships you mention which does not help as far as whether he remained a Royal Marine or actually became a Royal Marine Commando, but may be of some interest. Certain RM Battalions were disbanded in 1943 and the Marines either went for Commando Training or took up other duties such as Landing Craft duties. It is interesting to note the two ships he served on as you will see below, one being a battleship and the other a Landing Craft ship. As Nick says the Service Record is a vital part of your research.

Click on the links below to information and photos. As you will see we have photos of Roger Taylor, a Royal Marine who served on HMS Nelson, and then went onto service with 45RM Commando in 1945. The 'Roger Taylor, Pennsylvania 1944' photo would have been taken between July 1944 and Jan 1945 whilst HMS Nelson was at the Philadelphia Naval Yard for repairs:

For HMS Nelson :

http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-01BB-Nelson.htm

and

http://gallery.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/v/u...lor/Royal+Marines+140.jpg.html

and

http://gallery.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/v/u...lor/Royal+Marines+121.jpg.html

For HMS Glenroy:

http://gallery.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/v/WW2/ships/HMS+Glenroy.jpg.html

If you search on the internet on either of the two vessel names you will find interesting articles written about the ships or by some who served on them

Regards

Pete