Charlie Burton

My dad, Charles Burton, was tail gunner on "Wurfless" pictured in the Unknown Crew catagory.He is kneeling first man on left.

My dad, Charles Burton, was tail gunner on "Wurfless" pictured in the Unknown Crew category.He is kneeling first man on left.

Charlie Burton
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Charlie Burton
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Charlie Burton Mechanic, CookCharlie's father was in the Royal Navy, and Charlie was born in South Africa in December 1942, where his mother and brother lived for many years.Charlie was educated at Millfield School in Street, Somerset.He was definitely NOT academically inclined, however he excelled at all sports.He loved his school years, and lived for his rugger, golf, water polo, and boxing and by all accounts was forgiven many (and there were a lot) misdemeanours, on the strength of his contribution to the many school sports teams.On leaving school in 1961 he joined the Army and served in the Middle East, Northern Ireland, Malta and Germany.His father urged him to take a commission, but Charlie realised that would mean lots and lots of work and less and less sport.Much to his father's chagrin he remained happily in the ranks for his entire service career, though he did briefly make corporal for a few months!!!He won many sporting titles whilst in the army.On leaving the Army in 1967 he had various jobs, mostly in Security but in 1971 decided South Africa seemed like a good idea and took himself back to the land of his birth where he admits he "sort of worked" but actually it was really a sabbatical, which meant he spent four years thoroughly enjoying himself.Returning to England in 1975 he took a job working behind the bar at The Admiral Codrington pub in Chelsea, and it was there that his brother Richard introduced him to Ran Fiennes - thence embarking on the biggest adventure of his life!Charlie and Twink were married in Sydney, Australia in April 1981 during the Transglobe Expedition after the successful crossing of Antarctica and prior to the crossing of the Arctic.
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Along with flight engineer, Gerry Nicholson, Karl will resupply Ran Fiennes and Charlie Burton on their journey from Alert to Spitzbergen via the North Pole.

They married in 1955 and Charlie introduced her to club cycling and then competitive racing, a sport that she dominated for over quarter of a century by winning fifteen world championship medals and 120 British national titles.
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Charlie worked as an accounts clerk and spent much of his time managing his wife's cycling career, while Beryl earned some income and kept fit by working in local market gardens and rhubarb farms.

Then came West, Dunston, Miss Clarke, Miss Willis and Charles Burton, a clerk whose engagement to the pretty Miss Willis had been recently announced.
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"Burton is engaged to Miss Willis.

Charlie Burton
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Charlie Burton - Ice Team / Mechanic / Cook

Charlie's father was in the Royal Navy, and Charlie was born in South Africa in December 1942, where his mother and brother lived for many years.Charlie was educated at Millfield School in Street, Somerset.He was definitely NOT academically inclined, however he excelled at all sports.He loved his school years, and lived for his rugger, golf, water polo, and boxing and by all accounts was forgiven many (and there were a lot) misdemeanours, on the strength of his contribution to the many school sports teams.On leaving school in 1961 he joined the Army and served in the Middle East, Northern Ireland, Malta and Germany.His father urged him to take a commission, but Charlie realised that would mean lots and lots of work and less and less sport.Much to his father's chagrin he remained happily in the ranks for his entire service career, though he did briefly make corporal for a few months!!!He won many sporting titles whilst in the army.On leaving the Army in 1967 he had various jobs, mostly in Security but in 1971 decided South Africa seemed like a good idea and took himself back to the land of his birth where he admits he "sort of worked" but actually it was really a sabbatical, which meant he spent four years thoroughly enjoying himself.Returning to England in 1975 he took a job working behind the bar at The Admiral Codrington pub in Chelsea, and it was there that his brother Richard introduced him to Ran Fiennes , thence embarking on the biggest adventure of his life!Charlie and Twink were married in Sydney, Australia in April 1981 during the Transglobe Expedition after the successful crossing of Antarctica and prior to the crossing of the Arctic. see Obituary
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Along with flight engineer, Gerry Nicholson, Karl will resupply Ran Fiennes and Charlie Burton on their journey from Alert to Spitzbergen via the North Pole.

This left Ran Fiennes and Charlie Burton to tackle the Arctic crossing alone.
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Then Ran, Charlie and Bryn Campbell (the Observer photographer who had spent some time with Transglobe in Antarctica and was to photograph their journey across Alaska to Tuktoyaktuk) boarded and they set off for the Delta in a moderate swell.
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As soon as they arrived, the whole team buckled to and prepared the Morgan Stanley for her 3,000-mile voyage; and with such effect that Ran and Charlie were able to set off the next morning, 21st July, shortly before 10 o'clock.
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Following nearly 5 months overwintering, Ran and Charlie left Alert, fit and in good heart, on February 12.
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By 4 p.m. that day Ran and Charlie were on their way again, with the Alpines towing the British Steel sledges.
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But suddenly the 60-knot wind dropped, the temperature plunged to -34° F (-37° C), and the leads closed up, enabling Ran and Charlie to move.
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Meanwhile Ran and Charlie had already marked out a landing strip on the oldest (and therefore largest) floe they could find.
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The ship finally came to a stop only seven miles from the floe Ran and Charlie had left.
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With less than half a mile to go Ran stopped and Charlie came up beside him.
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They were stuck in the ice for a further ten days, floating southward on the current as Ran and Charlie had for the previous ninety-nine.

Charles Burton was born on October 4th 1897, and was educated at Fox Hill L.C.C. School, Woolwich before entering the Woolwich Polytechnic Secondary School on September 14th, 1909.He was granted exemption from fees by the L.C.C., and left the Polytechnic on January 23rd, 1914, when he ‘entered Mr Thomas' office, Borough Treasurer, Woolwich' (WPR).His record card for the year 1909-10 shows that he was a competent scholar, with ‘satisfactory' and ‘very satisfactory' conduct and work (WPR).He belonged to St Margaret's Church Social Club and was an active member of both the cricket and football sections, and he worked for the Woolwich Borough Council in the Borough Treasurer's Department as a junior clerk in the Electricity Stores Accounts Branch at 44, Powis Street (KIKM Dec 28, 1917).

81304, Private, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) (CWGC).Died October 4th 1917, aged 20 (CWGC).The Woolwich Polytechnic Magazine reported that: ‘he joined up in May, 1915, in the Army Ordnance Corps, but was transferred to the Machine-Gun Corps, early in 1917, and went to France for the second time on 13th February 1917' and that ‘he had died of wounds received 28th April 1917, on his 20th birthday, October, 4th 1917, at the 4th Norton General Hospital, Lincoln' (WPM Oct. 1917, p.13).

The Kentish Independent and Kentish Mail for December 28th, 1917 reported Private Burton's death under the title: ‘Died on his Birthday.Machine Gunner Charles Edward Burton'.It added further information on the military service of Charles Burton: ‘He enlisted in the Army Ordnance Corps in May 1915, was sent to France in the following October, and for some time was stationed at Marseilles, being attached to the Indian Expeditionary Force.He was called home in October 1916, and transferred to the Lincoln Regiment.After a course of training he qualified as a first class machine gunner, and for the second time was sent to France in February, 1917.He was seriously wounded at Arras on 28th April, and had the misfortune to lie in the open for about 24 hours before being picked up.He was brought home to hospital in Lincoln, where for five months he bore intense suffering most patiently, and died on his birthday, 4th October 1917, aged 20 years.'

Private Burton is buried in Woolwich (Plumstead) Cemetery, London, in Grave K.1235.This cemetery contains 105 scattered war graves.He is also commemorated on the Woolwich Hospital War Memorial Roll of Honour.