Captain Christopher 'Beagle’ Burne, who has died aged 80, commanded four ships in the Cold War-era Royal Navy and played a crucial if unusual role in the Falklands conflict.
Burne’s task was to impose naval discipline and authority , and to do so under the scrutiny of a dozen sceptical journalists. He was frank with the newspapermen, telling them that he did not want them in Canberra and certainly not in such numbers, though later they agreed that Burne was extremely helpful, particularly after the landings in the Falklands had begun.
On May 21 1982, during the landings in San Carlos Water, Canberra’s size and white hull made her an obvious target, but disembarkation of troops continued throughout the day until they had been landed without loss or injury. As bombs plunged into the water nearby, it seemed impossible that the vast ship could escape. On deck, Burne met the attacks with unshakeable humour and courage, keeping up a running commentary to the frightened men and women below decks and encouraging gunners to “Engage! Engage!” as enemy aircraft swept overhead.
It was a performance in the great tradition of eccentric naval officers at moments of crisis and inspired others on board to emulate his apparent nonchalance in the face of danger. Canberra emerged unscathed from some 60 air attacks. Later she returned to a heroes’ welcome at Southampton, and Burne was appointed CBE.
Christopher Peter Oldbury Burne was born on January 27 1932 in Alexandria, where his father was serving in the Army. The family moved to France and then to north Devon before the outbreak of the Second World War, at which point Christopher’s then retired father re-enlisted; he was captured while serving with the 12th Royal Lancers in North Africa. In 1945 Christopher entered the Royal Naval College, where his enthusiasm for hunting with the college pack, and a perceived resemblance to his favourite breed of hound, saw him emerge with a nickname that stuck for the rest of his career.
He spent the next decade at sea, until he specialised in 1956 as a gunnery officer. In 1958 he was appointed Field Gun Officer at Devonport, responsible for recruiting and training the West Country crew for the annual, fiercely contested, field gun competition at the Royal Tournament. Burne’s leadership inspired a clean sweep of trophies by his team. Then, from 1959 to 1961, he was second gunnery officer of the cruiser Tiger while she was flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. Tiger was a new ship fitted with fully automatic 6in and 3in guns, but these were temperamental, and Burne dedicated himself to understanding the technology behind them and getting them to work.
In 1962-63 Burne was a divisional officer of Grenville division at Dartmouth before, in 1966-67, taking command of the frigates Tenby and Chichester. This was followed by a rare staff appointment: though he could quote the military strategist Clausewitz, Burne was no gilded staff officer; rather, his penchant was for solving practical problems and inspiring his men .
In 1971-72 Burne commanded the Royal Navy’s leadership school, HMS Royal Arthur, at Corsham, Wiltshire, where all petty officers were sent on first promotion. In 1973-75 he was second-in-command of the commando carrier Bulwark, and his first appointment on promotion to captain in 1976 was as Director of Naval Physical Training and Sport .
In 1978-80 Burne commissioned the new Type 42 destroyer Coventry at Portsmouth. The first commission of any ship is always a testing time, and Burne had the additional task of overseeing first-of-class trials of the Westland Lynx helicopter .
After the Falklands conflict Burne was given another challenge: the guided missile destroyer Glamorgan had been damaged in the fighting by an Exocet missile. After dockyard repairs, he immediately guided her back into service, evacuating refugees from Beirut during the Lebanese civil war.
Having left the Service in 1985, Burne spent two years training the Sultan of Oman’s navy. Afterwards he continued to hunt with the Park Beagles in West Dorset and was a bell-ringer and lay reader at his local church in Somerset.
Christopher Burne enjoyed cycling holidays, and took his bicycle with him on every warship, arguing that it was the cheapest way to explore new ports. He died while cycling to his village’s Diamond Jubilee party.
He is survived by his wife, Belinda Coryton, whom he married in 1969, and their two children.
Captain Christopher “Beagle” Burne, born January 27 1932, died June 2 2012
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