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Tracy-Burgess-

A veteran interview with

Tracy Burgess

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About Tracy Burgess

He struggled with his mental health and worried about the drugs that the military had given to those deployed in the gulf.

One day Alan woke up told Tracy he didn’t love her anymore, leaving her and their children struggling with huge debts and a lack of understanding. Alan has never returned and Tracy has had to raise her children and rebuild her life alone.

Watch as Tracy describes her battles to get Alan the help he needed before it was too late.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker

Transcribed by:
Harriet Peacock

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 Harriet Peacock, please complete this form or email info@legasee.org.uk.

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Home | Veterans | Tracy Burgess

A veteran interview with

Tracy Burgess

Tracy-Burgess-

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Burgess, Tracy. A Veteran Interview with Tracy Burgess. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, 28 Oct. 2019 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/tracy-burgess/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2025.
APA Style:
Burgess, T. (2019, October 28). A Veteran Interview with Tracy Burgess [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved December 12, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/tracy-burgess/
Chicago Style:
Burgess, Tracy. 2019. A Veteran Interview with Tracy Burgess. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, October 28. Accessed December 12, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/tracy-burgess/
Harvard Style:
Burgess, T. (2019). A Veteran Interview with Tracy Burgess. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee, 28 October. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/tracy-burgess/ (Accessed: 12 December 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Burgess, T. A Veteran Interview with Tracy Burgess [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; 2019 Oct 28 [cited 2025 Dec 12]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/tracy-burgess/
An interview with

Moyra Smiley

Moyra describes her experiences as a FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) and a woman in charge of a signals and cypher department in East Africa

Before the war Moyra Smiley worked aged fifteen as an au pair in France, Italy and Germany to learn the languages. From 1936 aged seventeen she went to a FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) camp once a year in Kenya where she grew up and learnt to drive, mend cars and shoot rifles. When the war began, she was stationed as a FANY in Kent and Dover driving ambulances with wounded soldiers who had been brought over by ship. In Spring 1940 Moyra journeyed from Marseille via the Suez Canal to the East Africa FANYs and became a Lance Corporal. She recalls being appointed as the first NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) woman cypher worker and after two years being a Sergeant FANY in charge of a well-established signals and cypher department in East Africa, receiving and relaying messages to local and British intelligence. Moyra looks back fondly at the camaraderie between the FANYs in Kenya, when she lived in a convent outside Nairobi and how everyone pulled together. Moyra continued to use her cypher knowledge to work for M16 long after the war had ended.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martyn Cox
An interview with

Howard Ormerod

A man of charity and survivor of the SS Atlantic Conveyer which was tragically sunk by enemy forces during the Falklands War.

Howard Ormerod provides an enthralling account of his service with Royal Navy supplies aboard the SS Atlantic Conveyor during the Falklands War. Already having a background in trade, Howard's introduction to the navy began after receiving a job at the naval supplies department as part of the Ministry of Defence. However, it would take him four years before finding himself at sea where he volunteered as a civil servant aboard the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. When war broke out in the Falklands, his services became valuable to the SS Atlantic Conveyor, commanded by Captain Ian North. Howard recalls the immensity of the ship, acting as a carrier not just for small items but also large vehicles. He was tasked with managing and protecting the stores onboard. During her voyage, the Conveyor managed to offload supplies to RFA Stromness at Ascension Island and later transferred Harriers to HMS Plymouth. Things were running smoothly until the carrier was hit by an Exocet missile. The situation became so disastrous that the crew was forced to abandon ship. Howard describes his thrilling escape, passing though rising smoke which obscured his view and falling into water after missing a life raft beneath him. Ironically, the same life raft came on top of him at one point, nearly drowning him. His life had briefly flashed before his eyes. After being rescued by HMS Alacrity, Howard noticed that many of the stores were caught in the destruction and even more tragically, the loss of human lives, including the captain himself, Ian North. Following the catastrophe, Howard was sent home by aircraft, an experience he reflects on despairingly. After the Falklands, he would continue his naval supplies career for another three years before moving into accountancy. Despite having no regrets, Howard's brief time in the Falklands War made him wish that some things had gone differently and that more people recognised the success of the civil servants who helped in the offloading of stores. His interview reflects their bravery and achievements in the navy during the conflict.
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Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
An interview with

Andrew Cassels

During the Falklands War, Andrew Cassels was 2nd Mate on the BP tanker the British Avon

Andrew Cassels spent his entire career at British Petroleum (BP), joining at 17 and retiring at 60. He admits that a highlight of his time was during the Falklands Conflict when he served as 2nd Mate on the requisitioned Petroleum tanker, the British Avon. With his brother-in-law already involved in the conflict, Andrew happily volunteered. He describes preparing the ship for the journey south, highlighting the technical procedures for filling the tanks and the impressed Royal Fleet Auxiliary [RFA] crew who joined to assist with navigation. Refuelling at sea, particularly with the RFA Olna, was challenging and the stress on the ships' Captain ensured that Andrew had plenty of responsibility. He fondly recalls tuna fishing in Ascension and the Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA) navigational system on the Avon, though he still enjoyed using traditional star and sun sights with his sextant.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker