In September 1939 Bob was working as a carpenter's mate for a Public Works Contractor in Wiltshire. After the war, Bob Burgin returned to Dorset, moving to Langton Herring in 1946. During his time in Dorset he had met a young woman he was keen to return to. In 1949 he married Iris May Welham, the widow of Aircraftsman First Class Leslie William Welham, who had died in a lorry accident in 1941. Her father was Simon Peach, Patrol Member in the Langton Herring Patrol.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Dorset Scout Section | Scout Section Corporal | Unknown | unknown |
| Operation Haggard | SAS combatant | 14 Aug 1944 | 09 Sep 1944 |
Carpenter's mate
It is not known exactly when he joined the Scout Section.
He trained Patrols across Dorset. When he visited the Dorset Soldier pub in Corfe Mullen after the war, he was able to name the members of the local Patrol when he found their photo was on his place mat. (Sadly the pub no longer has these). He taught explosives. He recalled that they had been billeted at Lytchett House, Lytchett Matravers for a period.
In January 1944, along with most of this Scout Section he joined the B Squadron 1st Special Air Service Regiment after being requested to attend a recruitment event in London for former Auxiliers.
He was parachuted into France after D Day, saying, “We lived in forests and only came out at night when we would plan and execute the blowing up of bridges or blocking roads to hamper the enemy”.
11 Apr 1945 Reported missing believed prisoner of war along with Sergeant Youngman, and troopers Beckford, Eden, Stoneham and Merryweather. This was during Operation Howard. They were marched 200 miles to a prisoner of war camp. Shortly after he was reported no longer missing or a prisoner. Despite his capture, he would still say in later years of his Army service, “They were the best years of my life”.
After the war he remained friendly with Stoneham and Blackwell in particular.
He was interviewed for the Dorset Echo, being photographed near Hardy's Monument for the article in 1981. Landowner HO Duke had been having his land cleared of possible explosives by an Army team, following wartime training, when they found underground structures. Bob contacted the paper to explain about Auxiliary Units.
SAS War Diary
P&T Williams
Rob Burgin
Ancestry.co.uk
1939 register
Dorset Echo 8 Aug 1988, 23 Aug 1988, 5 May 1995