Her nephew, Andrew Coel recalls; "I am aware that my aunt was in the ATS all through the war after which as your record correctly states, she became Press Relations Officer for the Jockey Club until retirement in the late 1960s.
I know my aunt was based in many locations including Catterick and that she had been based for a while in the Norwich area. I recall that she once told me that she had signed the Official Secrets Act and could not reveal what she did but once she mentioned that she blamed her bad back on lugging batteries around and sleeping in damp conditions during the war which maybe fits in with her apparent duties as wireless operator at Thorpe. It was interesting to read of the two references to her in Beatrice Temple's diary where she appeared to be in trouble!"
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hatfield Peverel Instation | Operator | 1942 | 1942 |
| Thorpe St Andrew Instation | Operator | 1942 | 1942 |
In 1939 she was serving in the ATS as a Section Leader, possibly at Didcot Ordnance Depot as many nearby residents in the 1939 register were with Royal Army Ordnance Corps.
She was immediately promoted to War Substantive Subaltern on the day she was commissioned, presumably reflecting her previous experience.
She was visited at by Beatrice Temple at the following locations;
Hatfield Peveral 31 Mar 1942,
Norwich 1 Apr 1942
She was promted Temporary Junior Commander on 31 Aug 1943.
She stayed in ATS until 1948
Beatrice Temple notes in her diary; Wednesday April 1 1942 Norwich more equip – Captain Collings and Shanks and Oakey in Hut. Burbage there - talked about lack of security. Thursday Apr 2 Captain Collings has had further proof of Burbage's lack of security.
Born in Cambridge to Cyril and Margaret Burbage. In 1959 she became the first female public relations officer for The Jockey Club.
Beatrice Temple Diary,
1939 Register
Nephew Andrew M Coel
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35458/supplement/768/data.pdf
https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/89811618