Burns, Bob

Title

Burns, Bob
Denis Robert Burns
D R Burns

Description

23 items. Collection concerns Warrant Officer Bob Burns (1525609 RAFVR) he flew operations as a navigator with 106 Squadron and became a prisoner of war when his aircraft, Lancaster ND853 was shot down 27 April 1944. Collection includes an oral history interview with John Usher about Bob Burns, photographs, documents, various memoirs of his last operation and captivity. It also contains recordings of his saxophone being played.

The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by John Usher and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.

Date

2022-04-07

Publisher

IBCC Digital Archive

Rights

This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.

Identifier

Burns, DR

Collection Items

Bob Burns information re saxophone and clarinet
Account of Bob Burns (semi-professional musician) formation of orchestra in prisoner of war camp after arrival of Red Cross parcel with saxophone and clarinet. Continues with account of long walk from Silesia to Berlin in January/February 1945 in…

Bob Burns - the hundred mile walk (Stalag Luft VII to Berlin) with saxophone and clarinet
Gives account of last (and 7th) operation to Schweinfurt 26/27 April 1944. His Lancaster was shot down and the pilot, wireless operator, flight engineer, and both gunners were killed. The bomb aimer and navigator (Bob Burns) were made prisoners of…

Bob Burns (1525609)
Account of last operation to Schweinfurt on 25 April 1944. Describes attack by night fighter. Aircraft spinning down and Bob eventually blown out of aircraft by explosion and parachuted to safety. Initially evaded but captured while injured. Recalls…

Bob Burns computer compendium
Draft of memoir with contents page - giving service history. Followed by pages with reference to photographs for name and rank, deferred service, ground training dates and places, training in Canada, back home for service flying, 5 Group, 51 base,…

Alto saxophone Jazz. Two
Music recording

Alto saxophone Jazz. One
Music recording

Alto saxophone. In the mood
Music recording

Clarinet
Clarinet in case. Three views.

Saxophone
Saxophone case closed, instrument in case open and various other complete and closeup views.

Bob Burns
Side face image of a man wearing civilian clothes. Two versions of the same image. Submitted with caption 'Bob Burns- escape photograph provided by squadron to be used in documents if an evcader [sic]- date unknown- likely early 1944'.

Hauptman Walter Bernschein
Full face portrait of a Luftwaffe officer with iron cross on neck ribbon. On the reverse 'Hauptman Walter Bernschein, Ju88 night fighter pilot, who shot down Lancaster ND853, XN=J'. Two versions of the same image. Submitted with caption 'Hauptmann…

Caterpillar club membership card
Made out for Flight Sergeant D R Burns. Two versions of the same item. Submitted with caption 'Photo of Bob Burns's Caterpillar Club card- date unknown'.

Warrant Officer Bob Burns
Three-quarter length image of an airman wearing battledress with observer brevet, medal ribbons, warrant officer rank, and side cap. Standing with hand in pocket in front of a Wellington. Two versions of the same image. Submitted with caption 'Bob…

Bob Burns
Head and shoulders portrait of an airman wearing tunic with observer brevet, caterpillar badge and medal ribbons. Two versions of the same image. Submitted with caption 'Bob Burns probably a Warrant Officer. Date unknown probably late 1945 in the…

Casualty form - crew details
Form giving details of crew: pilot - Bishop C A, (annotated orig burial Schrouchenbach village), navigator - Burns D (annotated in hospital), W Op - Daw D (annotated dead), flt eng Healy H R, bomb aimer - [.....] (annotated safe), rear gunner -…

Bob Burns
Half-length image of an airman wearing tunic with sergeant rank and observers brevet and side cap. Buildings in the background. Three versions of the same image. Submitted with caption 'Sgt Bob Burns- Graduation leave- on way home- 'Happy with brevet…

Letter to Mrs E Burns from RAF director of personal services
Confirms their telegram that information had been received from the International Red Cross that her son was a prisoner of war. No information on address of camp he was in. As no news had been received about the rest of his crew, they ask to be…

Burns prisoner of war identity card
Gives personal details and next of kin. Includes b/w photograph and fingerprint. Stalag IX C. Two versions of the same item. Submitted with caption 'Photo of Bob Burns's German PoW ID card for Stalag IXC'.

Map of 5 Group Schweinfurt operation
Map showing route to Schweinfurt with numbers (squadron and squadron letter, aircraft registration and location) indicating crash sites of lost aircraft. On the reverse '5 Group Operation to Schweinfurt April 26/27, 1944, Route taken and crash sites…

Prisoner of war identity card
Card with descriptive details. Two b/w head and shoulders photographs of Bob Burns and a fingerprint. Two versions of the same item. Submitted with caption 'Photo of Bob Burns's German PoW record'.

Grave of crew
Grave marker board with names surrounded by flowers and bush. In the background a wall, On the reverse 'Grave of Bob's Lancaster crew, buried in village cemetery (Arnstein)'. Two versions of the same image. Submitted with captions for front and rear.…

Interview with John Usher about Bob Burns
Bob Burns trained as a navigator and was posted to 106 Squadron at RAF Metheringham. His aircraft came under attack from a night fighter and the centrifugal force pinned the crew down and making escape impossible.
Suddenly the aircraft broke in to…
View all 23 items

Collection Tree

  • Burns, Bob