Horace Minden Burrows was born in Haslemere, Surrey, on 26th May 1917, to parents Albert and Olive. But when he was only 15-years-old, he decided to move to Kenilworth (all on his own), to find work in the engineering industry in Coventry. He lodged with family friends, Tom and Ella Taylor in Priory Road.
Arrival in Kenilworth
After coming to Kenilworth, he indeed found work in Coventry. On the 1939 register, he was recorded as being employed as a Motor Car Bodymaker. But WW2 was looming, and in February 1940, then aged 22, he was summoned to Coventry for a medical and was passed ‘Grade 1’. Because of his reserved occupation, he was not immediatly called-up, and was put into the reserve. Three months later, following the Dunkirk evacuation, the UK braced itself for a possible invasion, and most of the armed forces were in southern England awaiting the enemy – but luckily it never happened. In early 1942, Horace married Daisy Gould, and their first home together was in High Street. But within a year, in January 1943, Horace was finally called-up into the Royal Marines. Something big was about to happen……..
D-Day – Normandy Invasion
The planning of the invasion, Operation Neptune – part of Operation Overlord, had began back in 1943, which gave the combined allied forces plenty of time to prepare. It was to become the biggest seabourne invasion in history, and Horace was right in the thick-of-it.
Horace was a member of the newly formed 904 Flotilla, who trained on Landing Craft Support (medium) – or, in short, the L.C.S. (M)s. These crafts had twin 0.5″ calibre machine guns and a 4″ smoke mortar (later firing high explosive bombs) plus a smoke generator. Horace became the driver of boat No. 74, and was part of the invasion of Gold Beach during D-Day, 6th June.
In 2005, he remarked; “We were giving covering fire to the amphibious ‘DD’ tanks as they approached the beaches, but it was like using a pea-shooter against those concrete gun emplacements. Our bullets just bounced off. We were shelled a bit, bombed a bit and blown about a bit, but somehow, I survived”.
One of his eardrums was burst with all the noise, so he was deaf in one ear for the rest of his life.
By the end of D-Day, around 25,000 troops had been landed at Gold Beach, in which over 15,000 Marines took part. Following the success of Operation Neptune, the 904th Flotilla were sent back to England and re-deployed. They headed north, and by November had arrived at H.M.S. Monck, Port Glasgow. From here, the Marines sailed to India, and then onto Burma to fight the Japanese. Horace was always forthcoming about his D-Day experiences, but the time he spent in the Burmese jungle, he would never ever talk about it, not one word…………
Pictures From India
Back Home to Kenilworth
Horace was finally de-mobbed in the spring of 1946 at Plymouth. On his return home, he went back into the thriving engineering industry in Coventry. Over the years, he worked for various companies including; Rover, Carbodies and Standard Triumph. He and Daisy continued to live in High Street for a number of years, then during the 1960s they moved to Avenue Road, off Clinton Lane.
For the rest of his life he became an active member of the Kenilworth Branch of the Royal British Legion and eventually became chairman. Like all Legion members, he was dedicated to Poppy Appeal each year, which raised funds for former military personnel who were in need of help. The Kenilworth Branch would also arranged numerous events throughout the year to raise money including: dinner parties, flower shows, coffee mornings, sponsored walks, even pumpkin evenings!
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
Off To Buck House For Lunch
In 2005, in recognistion of his miltary service (and no doubt his British Legion work also), he was invited to lunch with Queen Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh, in the back garden of Buckingham Palace. It was to commemorate the 60th year of the ending of the war, 200 people attended occasion. Numerous dignitaries were there, including members of the Royal Family and Prime Minister, Tony Blair and his wife, Cherry. There was a fly-over of various WW2 aircraft and the music was provided by The Band of the Queen’s Division, and rather fittingly for Horace, The Band of the Royal Marines. For the record, all guests had Ballotine of Salmon with herb mayonnaise salad with peas, tomatoes and asparagus, plus new potatoes. Dessert was gooseberry shortbread.
Horace Minden Burrows
26th May 1917 – 13th February 2016
A big thank you to his son John Burrows for suppling many of the above photos.