A Sea Change
Warrant Officer Victor John Burton Royal Navy & Royal Air Force
1914-18 British War Medal. Victory Medal. 1939-45 Star. Italy Star. Defence Medal. War Medal 1939-45. Royal Air Force Long Service & Good Conduct Medal.
The Man Victor John Burton was born on 25th June 1899 in Brighton, Sussex. It seems, although this is to be confirmed, that he was the son of John and Charlotte Burton nee Huntley and by the time of the 1901 census was living with his mother and her family at 50 Carlton Row, Brighton, but only listed by his middle name of John. It is not known what happened to Victor’s father, but ten years later in 1911 Victor’s mother had re-married a Horace Cole and the family were living at the same address, Victor now having a half sister, Ada aged 1. Little further detail is known about Victor’s early life except that after leaving school he became a butcher and on 25th June 1917, his 18th birthday enlisted into the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman with service number J72724. Upon enlistment he was described as 5'.3" tall with a 34" chest, brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He also had a mole at the bottom of his breast bone, small scars on the left side of his forehead, the right side of his neck and top joint of his left thumb. He had a tattoo on right wrist saying LOVE. EC., a wheel on his left wrist and clasped hands with flowers and the word Together on his right forearm. Victor served in His Majesty's Ships Victory I until 5th November when he transferred to a Searanger, followed by HMS Venerable, a London Class Pre Dreadnought battleship, on 7th May 1918 and Implacable, a Formidable Class Battleship on 22nd until his discharge following the end of the war and hosilities on 12th May 1919; whereupon he was paid a war gratuity. His character was described as Very Good and his ability as satisfactory. For his war service Victor was awarded the 1914-19 British War and Victory Medals. Four months later on 10th September Victor re-enlisted into the Navy with a new service number SS123904 (Special Service) as a Stoker 2nd Class. During the next four years he served in several ships, HMS Victory II, a shore establishment until 20th May 1920, Vernon, a former 50 gun Fourth Rate used as a shore torpedo school ship, until 8th September, Victory II again until 19th November. On 10th March 1922 he passed educationally for Petty Officer and served in HMS Carlisle, a C Class light cruiser until 6th December 1923, Vindictive, a Hawkins Class Cruiser until 27th January and finally Victory II for a third time until his discharge on 2nd March 1923 when he was awarded a £20.00 bonus. During the second quarter of 1925 aged 26 he married Ella O M Levett in Brighton and about this time enlisted into the Royal Air Force with a new service number of 354191. He was promoted through the ranks receiving his RAF Long Service & Good Conduct Medal on 23rd May 1937 as a Corporal and reaching Warrant Officer on 1st June 1940. He had disappeared from the RAF lists by 1947. Victor saw service again during World War II in Italy and was awarded the 1939-45 and Italy Stars, Defence and War Medal 1939-45. Victor died during the third quarter of 1965 aged 66 in Thanet.
The Story The set of medals awarded to Victor John Burton were acquired on 24th July 1994 at the Aldershot Medal Fair. At the time and for some years after little information was available, except the basic details taken from the Royal Air Force list referring to the award of his long service medal and promotion to Warrant Officer. During a visit to The National Archives on 18th May 2013, and whilst waiting for some other information to be delivered, a cursory search of Royal Naval records was made and Victor Burton’s name put into the search engine. Within a few seconds his World War I Naval records were available and downloaded. This provided much useful information that subsequently allowed Victor’s brief biography to be compiled. Gathering detail from Ancestry.Uk was not as straightforward as it sometimes is. It seems, and this is to be confirmed, that Victor’s mother Charlotte married his father John in 1898, Victor being born a year later in 1899. By the 1901 census Charlotte was living with her parents and Victor listed by his middle name of John. In 1909 Charlotte re-married a Horace Cole, and in the 1911 census Victor is named as Victor only! It took many painstaking hours to unravel the various details of this short period of Victor’s life and at the time of writing it is still not 100% sure this is correct. A birth certificate will be ordered to confirm the details.
This group of medals is one I have only been able to find a minimal amount of detail on. They are in effect 'work in progress' as one day something additional may well be uncovered. Please feel free to contact me should you know of, or have any information on this man
The Story The set of medals awarded to Victor John Burton were acquired on 24th July 1994 at the Aldershot Medal Fair. At the time and for some years after little information was available, except the basic details taken from the Royal Air Force list referring to the award of his long service medal and promotion to Warrant Officer. During a visit to The National Archives on 18th May 2013, and whilst waiting for some other information to be delivered, a cursory search of Royal Naval records was made and Victor Burton’s name put into the search engine. Within a few seconds his World War I Naval records were available and downloaded. This provided much useful information that subsequently allowed Victor’s brief biography to be compiled. Gathering detail from Ancestry.Uk was not as straightforward as it sometimes is. It seems, and this is to be confirmed, that Victor’s mother Charlotte married his father John in 1898, Victor being born a year later in 1899. By the 1901 census Charlotte was living with her parents and Victor listed by his middle name of John. In 1909 Charlotte re-married a Horace Cole, and in the 1911 census Victor is named as Victor only! It took many painstaking hours to unravel the various details of this short period of Victor’s life and at the time of writing it is still not 100% sure this is correct. A birth certificate will be ordered to confirm the details.
This group of medals is one I have only been able to find a minimal amount of detail on. They are in effect 'work in progress' as one day something additional may well be uncovered. Please feel free to contact me should you know of, or have any information on this man
Medal Details:
- 1914-18 British War Medal: J.72724 V.J.BURTON ORD.R.N.
- Victory Medal: J.72724 V.J.BURTON ORD.R.N.
- 1939-45 Star: Unnamed as awarded.
- Italy Star: Unnamed as awarded.
- Defence Medal: Unnamed as awarded.
- War Medal 1939-45: Unnamed as awarded.
- RAF Long Service & Good Conduct Medal: 354191.CPL.V.J.BURTON. R.A.F.
Page last updated 22 Jun 13