1. Micky Burn's father was secretary and solicitor to the Duchy of Cornwall, becoming a trusted confidant of the King.
17 Facts About Micky Burn
1. 2.
Micky Burn spent time in Florence, befriending Alice Keppel, the former mistress of Edward VII.
3.
On two occasions during the 1930s Micky Burn took himself to the police to avoid being blackmailed for the crime of homosexual conduct.
4.
Micky Burn met the German leader in 1936, who signed his copy of Mein Kampf.
5.
Micky Burn attended a Nazi Party Rally at Nuremberg, standing on the dais just a few feet behind the Fuhrer himself.
6.
In 1936, Micky Burn joined The Times newspaper, initially on probation on the Home Editorial desk.
7.
In 1937, with Hitler's intentions becoming ever more clear, Micky Burn enlisted in the Queen's Westminsters, a Territorial battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps.
8.
When World War II came, Micky Burn was at once called up.
9.
Micky Burn later attempted to escape the tightening German cordon along with two of his men, one of whom was killed.
10.
At Colditz Micky Burn studied for a Oxford diploma and wrote a novel fictionalizing his years as a prisoner, which was published as Yes, Farewell in 1946.
11.
On liberation, Micky Burn sent dispatches to The Times that appeared in the newspaper on 19 and 21 April 1945; they were the first detailed published descriptions of a prisoner-of-war camp.
12.
Micky Burn wrote nine books of non-fiction, four novels and six books of poetry.
13.
Micky Burn enjoyed reading his poetry aloud at regional poetry events.
14.
Micky Burn wrote a play, The Night of the Ball, which opened in London's West End in 1954 starring Gladys Cooper.
15.
Micky Burn married Mary Booker on 27 March 1947; Booker had been divorced from her husband in 1926.
16.
Micky Burn's autobiography, Turned Towards the Sun, was published in 2003.
17.
Micky Burn died in his sleep after suffering a stroke at his residence in Minffordd, North Wales on 3 September 2010, at the age of 97.