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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Jeanne on behalf of Audrey and has been added to the site with her permission. Audrey understands the site’s terms and conditions.

St Cuthbert’s Church, Bedford: 11.00 am

We were all at church that Sunday; mother, father and the five of us Burroughs children and the two Ellis boys, John and Dick. The vicar had just started to deliver his sermon, when a sidesman walked up the aisle from the back of the church and handed him a note. There was silence as he read it. Then he faced the congregation and announced solemnly, that Britain was now at war with Germany! This really came as a surprise — there had been so much talk of war — I think everyone felt it was inevitable.

I was then 13 year’s old, but to my amazement, my father stood up and turned and left the church. Then my brother David, followed; David was not yet 16! My father, a retired Major from the Indian Army, had served in Mesopotamia during the 1st World War, and was now in the Territorial Reserves. He returned to Regular Army Service. He worked closely with the ATS, training young women to drive heavy lorries and “man” searchlight sites, which he very much enjoyed and was full of praise for his young ATS recruits.

David went to London early on Monday morning and reported to the Admiralty. He had spent two years on the Worcester training ship on the Thames, with the intention of joining the Merchant Navy and had recently taken his first sea trip to Norway (as crew). It had been bad weather and he had suffered terrible sea-sickness. On returning home he had gone down with flu and had barely recovered. Never the less he went to the Admiralty and signed on with the R.N.R. He was sent to Glasgow — a young midshipman. From there he was sent on the Scapa Flow in the Orkneys, off the North East of Scotland. He was attached to ‘The Iron Duke’. German submarines penetrated Scapa Flow and sank ‘The Iron Duke’ at The Royal Oak on the 14th October, with the loss of 833 lives. We (the family) were relieved to discover that ‘The Iron Duke’ was simply his postal address. He was now aboard an armed merchant cruiser, ‘A.M.C. Astarias’ moored outside The Bay. He was okay, thank God. Later, in December 1939, the Astarias was involved in the capture of the Grafspee, a German Pocket Battleship which had been responsible for sinking eight or nine of our ships in the Atlantic. The Grafspee was captured and towed into Montevideo harbour, (Uruguay). On the orders of the German Captain, she was scuttled, after the crew were evacuated and taken prisoner.

David was quite upset to learn that the Captain, who was a fine man and well-respected, went ashore and shot himself.

In those early days of the war, most of the action seemed to be at sea in the Atlantic and many, mainly of our merchant ships were sunk by German sub-marines. U-boats under the command of the German Admiral Doenitz.

David was told that he was the youngest midshipman to leave Glasgow during the War. There were three young midshipmen on the Astarias at that time. They were “looked after” by a petty officer called Mr Brown who was very kind and helpful to these boys and was given the nick name “nanny”. Years later David met up with him again and they remained friends. David survived the War. He was two years of Russian Convoys.

He now lives with his wife and family in Victoria, Australia.

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