Burn, Mary Wynn (Oral history)

2091916434
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80016927&media_id=241415" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
1558044515
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80016927&media_id=241416" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
608760422
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80016927&media_id=241417" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
1217409023
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80016927&media_id=241418" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Description

Object description

British civilian cypherer with British Legation in Athens, Greece, 4/1940-4/1941; served with Headquarters, Creforce, Canea, Crete, Greece, 4/1941-5/1941; served with General Headquarters, Middle East, Cairo, Egypt, 1941-1942; served with No 276 Wing, RAF at RAF Heliopolis, Egypt, 1942-1943; translator with Greek Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, 1943-1944; served as third secretary with British Embassy in Athens, Greece, 1944-1945

Content description

REEL 1 Background in GB, 1910-1940: family; education. Recollections of period as cypherer with British Legation in Athens, Greece, 4/1940-4/1941: arrival in Salonika, 4/1940; enthusiasm of Greeks for Second World War and the British, 1940; cypher work at British Legation; presence of German Air Force prisoners of war aboard ship she escaped from Greece in; effects of German assault on Greece, 3/1941-4/1941; escape aboard SS Elsi from mainland Greece to Crete, 4/1941. Aspects of period as cypherer with Headquarters, Creforce at Canea, Crete, Greece, 4/1941-5/1941: arrival on Crete, 4/1941; cypher work at Canea, 4/1941; escape by Short Sunderland Flying Boat to Alexandria, Egypt, 5/1941. Aspects of period as cypherer at General Headquarters, Middle East, Cairo, Egypt, 1941-1942: work at headquarters. REEL 2 Continues: work on captured German manuals; meeting with Eric Wilson VC in Cairo; 'Ash Wednesday' in Cairo, 6/1942. Aspects of period as cypherer with No 276 Wing, RAF at RAF Heliopolis, Egypt, 1942-1943: recruitment to unit; dropping of German Air Force land-mines at RAF Heliopolis, 1942; her mastoid illness, 1942-1943; prevalence of mastoid problems in Cairo; convalescence in Jerusalem, Palestine, 1943. Aspects of period as translator with Greek Embassy, Cairo, Egypt, 1943-1944: translation work; smallpox case. Recollections of period as third secretary with British Embassy in Athens, Greece, 1944-1945: return to Greece, 10/1944; conditions in Athens, 10/1944; rations at embassy; start of disturbances in Athens, 12/1944. REEL 3 Continues: nature of crisis in Athens, 12/1944; contact with Greek political leaders; living conditions during siege, 12/1944-1/1945; attitude of Harold Macmillan during siege; impressions of Field Marshal Harold Alexander; Christmas service 25/12/1945; arrival of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, 12/1944; Osbert Lancaster's efforts to improve Christmas crib, 12/1944; memories of Anthony Eden, 12/1944; dancing the 'Roger de Coverley' to keep warm, 12/1944; Prime Minister Winston Churchill's comment on American press attacks on British policy in Greece, 12/1944; siege leave in Crete, 1945. REEL 4 Continues: distribution of relief in Crete, 1945; welfare work in Crete, 1945; VE Day celebrations in Athens, 8/5/1945.

Object Details

Category: Sound
Related period: 1990 to the present day (production), Second World War (content), Second World War (association)
Creator: IWM (Production company)
Wood, Conrad (Recorder)
Burn, Mary Wynn (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date: 1997-06-12
Dimensions: whole: Duration 100, Number Of Items 4
Catalogue number: 17476

Object associations

Our collections information

We have over a million object records online, and we are adding to this all the time. Our records are never finished. Sometimes we discover new information that changes what we know about an object, such as who made it or used it. Sometimes we change how an object is interpreted. We sometimes make mistakes in our spelling, transcription or categorisation, or miss information out of our records.

Read more about our collections and the information we hold. Developing our collections information

If you have concerns about the language in this record, or you have information to improve it, please share your feedback.

Burn, Mary Wynn (Oral history)

Description

Object description

Content description

Object Details

Object associations

Associated people and organisations

Associated places

Associated themes

Our collections information

Related content

How Britain Celebrated Christmas During The Second World War