RNPS

Captain William George McCallum (Bill) Burn Royal Navy 1922 - 2011

Written by Commander Nigel Morton Royal Navy

‘Bill’ Burn was born on 22 October 1922, and joined the RN as an Engineer Officer on 1 January 1940. He completed training and was promoted to Acting Sub-Lieutenant on 1 May 1942, was confirmed as a Sub-Lieutenant on 9 February 1943, and promoted to Acting Lieutenant on 16 April that year. His joined HMS VICTORIOUS ‘Additional for Engine Room training and to obtain watchkeeping certificate’ on the 22 December 1943, and remained with the ship for his first complement appointment as DCO from early 1944 until August 1945.

After the war, as a Lieutenant Commander he served as Senior Engineer in HMS MONTCLARE from 1952 to 1953, and as Training Officer at HMS RALEIGH from 1953 until 1956. He was promoted to Acting Commander on 26 May 1956 when appointed to the Admiralty for duty in the Ship Requirements Section of the Tactical Ship Requirements and Staff Duties Division, and confirmed in the rank on 31 December that year. As an Italian Linguist and Interpreter he was appointed as the Assistant Naval Attache (Technical) in Rome in 1959, and carried out further Embassy roles as Attache for Naval Questions in Berne and Vienna after that. He attended the Joint Services Staff Course in 1962, and his final appointment as a Commander was as Squadron Engineer Officer in HMS ADAMANT from 1963 to 1965. Promoted Captain on 31 December 1965, he served as Naval Adviser to the UK High Commissioner in New Delhi between 1965 and 1967, and attended the Imperial Defence College in 1968. He commanded HMS CALEDONIA from 1969 to 1971, was Superintendent of the Admiralty Experimental Laboratory at West Drayton from 1971 to 1973, and his last appointment in the Service was as Director of Naval Manpower Planning in the MoD until 1974. He was appointed an AdC to Her Majesty the Queen on 7 Jul 1974.

Bill Burn was well regarded as a keen and very competent piper throughout his career, and Highland Dancing skills went hand in hand with his piping ability He was also a very capable rugger player and sailor, a good rifle and revolver shot and a keen artist who also turned his hand to both designing and painting scenery for ship and Establishment ‘Am Dram’ productions, as well as treading the boards himself.