Page 10 - Flaming Cauldron – Issue 55

ACC ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

The Last Post

Robert Burniston late APTC training for and winning an Army Final.
As a sometime officer I/C Basketball Apprentices who learned to play basket-
it falls to me to share with the wider ball took with them into adult service a
community of the Corps the news of the skill which enabled them to give more to
passing unexpectedly of Bob Burniston their regiment than just good catering, a
APTC, who a while ago was an instruc- fact often appearing in their confidential
tor in the ACC Apprentices College. At reports. One of Bob’s protégées achieved
that time instructors of young recruits an ACC commission and another was
were carefully selected and Bob was such still playing ‘base line’ when a lieutenant
a one. Through his enthusiasm and skill colonel.
in Basketball he raised teams and over- Somewhat appropriately on retiring
In Pensioner, late WO1 Stanley Paul
saw the growth of boys into young men, from the army Bob and his wife Sheila
Atkinson
he taught them team work, gave them went to live in Canada, for he was a great
29th November 1933 – 14th April 2020
self-confidence and self-discipline, and bear of a man, with huge hands and,
Stan enlisted at Acton, London on 7th
a good measure of fun. Anticipating a wearing glasses whilst playing, he rarely
September 1949 and joined the ACC
team member’s marriage, Bob arranged appeared without white sticky tape
as a Boy Soldier completing three years
for a dressing room presentation of a holding his frames together. Settled in
training at St Omer Barracks. In 1952
Corps Colours tie so that the recipient Toronto, Bob was the Physical Training
he went to work for General Mobbs as
might have a tie to wear at his wedding. Instructor for the Toronto Police Force
a House Chef but was soon promoted
On court Bob deployed a huge grin yet still found time to take part in
and posted on to the Army School of
which was exactly the same whether he Veteran Games events (for supposedly
Catering at Catterick where he served
was signalling ‘Well done’ or despairingly old people) entering a variety of disci-
as an instructor for two years. He then
‘That-is-not-what-I-told-you-to-do.’ plines that he invariably won. Through
was sent to Kenya where he worked
The Apprentice teams that Bob coached visits and use of social media, many of
at the Catering School for two years
and the adult teams in which he played those youngsters who played with him
in Nairobi. A tour in Germany with
won many Army Championships, rais- have over time, maintained contact
50 Missile Regiment RA followed in
ing the profile of the Corps, and giving with Bob and Sheila. Whatever they
1959 and then in 1961 he was posted
many of those on the Regimental Duty may wish to say privately, mindful of
to SHAPE (Paris) to run the catering
Roll the unexpected experience of the contribution that Robert Burniston
facility for the British contingent which
included BMH Paris. By this time,
he was a WO2 and attached to 2nd
Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment
in Germany. A further posting fol-
lowed before he became a Supervisory
Travelling Inspector (STI) as a WO1
in Aldershot. His last posting was to be
the first Military Mess Supervisor at the
Army Staff College at Camberley. He
was discharged on 1 May 1975 having
served for over 24 years. On leaving the
Army he was offered the opportunity to
continue as the catering manager at the
Army Staff College a job which he filled
from 1975 to 1984. He then moved to
Skegness where he set up his own hotel
with his wife and daughter. He ran the
hotel for six years and then handed
it over to his wife and daughter. He
then worked for three years as a Court
Officer with the probationary services in
Skegness and finally again in Skegness
as a social worker. Stan had been resi-
dent at the Royal Hospital Chelsea One of the many Burniston Basketball teams. Top l to r. ‘Hank’ Hankins, David Brown, Lt Col Tony Barnett CO, David
Saunders, Robert Burniston, (you can tell who has been working hardest). Bottom l to r. Ian Dean, Jim Thomson,
since 2009.
Dougie Dau, ‘Fred’ Cadman, ‘Taffy’ Jones RSM
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