John Alwyne Burgess
by Published on 17th March 2012 09:45 PM
In 2010 I decided to investigate my late uncle's wartime career in the Merchant Navy. Until that time, to be honest, I had not given it much thought. However his widow had recently had a clear out of her loft and had sent me his discharge book and a couple of other bits and pieces. Those items led me into the world of these nostalgia sites whilst attempting some research. Luckily for me, both Ray Buck and Hugh answered my probing questions on another site and this steered me in the right direction. With their help, which I have seen replicated many times on this site, I was able to pin down and establish virtually all of my late uncle's career, the ships he was on, where he went and how his career progressed from apprentice to 2nd mate when he was discharged from national service.
His widow was delighted with my findings which I put together in a booklet form for her. She had not even met him until after the war and her knowledge of his career was sketchy to say the least. As many of us know that generation were reluctant to talk about their wartime experiences. I have now uploaded it to a web site. She has also discovered some old photos which I will be adding at a later date. Whilst this is primarily only of family interest I thought that it would be useful for members and prospective members to see what can be achieved with the help of the researchers on this site. Without their interest and involvement I may never have continued with my own research into his past and almost certainly would not have joined the many sites available to us.
For those interested in the career of an Ellerman and Bucknell Steamship Company Deck Officer the site is HERE
Last edited by Doc Vernon; 19th August 2018 at 10:18 PM.