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A veteran interview with

Garry Burns

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About Garry Burns

Garry Burns shares an engaging account of his service aboard RFA Tidespring during the Falklands War. Raised in a Children’s home, Garry understood hardness and strict discipline from a young age. These qualities would benefit his transition into the Royal Navy when he joined.

After enlisting at sixteen, he trained as a Gunner, working aboard many warships from HMS Cambridge to HMS Reclaim. This was before choosing to become a merchant sailor, serving aboard RFA Tidespring as a Paint locker-man. Despite leaving the navy, he would soon find himself entering a warzone after Tidespring was called to Ascension Island in preparation for war in the Falklands. Something Garry thought was a joke because the message was received on April 1st.

While sailing to South Georgia with a group of other warships, Garry recalls how they were required to bunch up and mimic cargo ships to avoid detection from Russian Satellites who were monitoring them. At South Georgia, many crazy stories unfolded such as, struggling to send marines ashore after the crashing of two helicopters and the drifting of a recovery boat.

After the bombardment and surrender of South Georgia, the crew were given the opportunity to inspect the hamlet of Grytviken. Garry was stunned by how forsaken it was. It resembled a ghost town in which everyone had left, yet much was left behind.

During the war, they brought hundreds of POWs aboard, including crew members of the Santa Fe submarine which had limped onto Grytviken after being attacked. When meeting the prisoners, Garry noticed how bedraggled some of them appeared. He managed to form healthy relationships with some of them, especially since he knew Spanish from his earlier voyages in both South and Central America. This made him the crew’s unofficial translator.

Being born mixed race in the 1950s, Garry never had an easy time making friends, especially early on. However, his life aboard Tidespring proved to be a happy one and his skin colour was valuable in gaining the assurance of POWs who may have found it difficult to trust someone of a more English disposition.

Garry’s story captures the advantages that come from growing up in undesirable circumstances, from the success that can still be attained and the surprising way in which new bonds can be formed.

 

 

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker

Transcribed by:
Gillian Cousins

Transcripts:
Please note that transcripts and closed captions in the video player are automatically generated by Vimeo.

If you would like a version of the transcript that has been transcribed manually by Gillian Cousins, please complete this form or email info@legasee.org.uk.

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Home | Veterans | Garry Burns

A veteran interview with

Garry Burns

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Burns, Garry. A Veteran Interview with Garry Burns. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, 24 Feb. 2022 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/garry-burns/. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
APA Style:
Burns, G. (2022, February 24). A Veteran Interview with Garry Burns [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved June 14, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/garry-burns/
Chicago Style:
Burns, Garry. 2022. A Veteran Interview with Garry Burns. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, February 24. Accessed June 14, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/garry-burns/
Harvard Style:
Burns, G. (2022). A Veteran Interview with Garry Burns. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee, 24 February. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/garry-burns/ (Accessed: 14 June 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Burns, G. A Veteran Interview with Garry Burns [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; 2022 Feb 24 [cited 2025 Jun 14]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/garry-burns/
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