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30th September 2024

Dennis Burton – a Rollercoaster of a Life.

To say that Dennis Burton has had an exciting life would be an understatement. From working with Royalty, celebrities and at sea with the Norwegian Navy to becoming a boxing judge and a supervisor at the 2012 Olympics, it would be more fitting to ask what hasn’t Dennis done?

Dennis and his wife Barbara have lived at Whiteley Village for the last seven years and although their lives may be peaceful now, they have had many adventures prior to this.

After leaving school, Dennis passed his apprenticeship in carpentry and began working in the building industry. In those days, the wage was just 7d per hour, but he still retains those skills to this day and a beautifully carved side table that he made 70 years ago as an apprentice sits proudly in their apartment as a testament to this. You can still see today the ancillary dwellings and buildings on the Windsor Castle estate that Dennis worked on, just one of his many jobs in the industry.

It was during the school holidays that Barbara nearly ran him over on her bicycle and from then, the two started seeing each other. Their wedding day photo shows a happy couple at their reception in 1959 and this year they celebrate 65 years of marriage.

Barbara worked in various roles including manufacturing at the RCA factory producing record players. Dennis, meanwhile, had taken a position as Helmsman with the Norwegian Navy for three years and so began his varied professional life.

He has always had a keen interest in sports and realised he had great organisational and management skills so in later life, he combined this and was able to take on supervisory and marshalling roles. These included attending the Royal Suite at Wembley for three years when our late Queen was patron, Royal Ascot, the rugby stadium at Twickenham and the 2012 Olympic Games. He grabs two handfuls of lanyards and says, ‘These are just some of the places I’ve worked at!’

He has also been featured in educational films and was a boxing judge for many years. One of his greatest loves was racing pigeons. In 1960 he acquired his first pigeon loft and went on to train his birds to fly home from France and Spain. His achievements and success in this specialised field is astounding both as a competitor and as a judge and he brings out a stack of awards and certificates. His dresser is festooned with cups, medals and trophies gained over the years in so many activities.

After retiring, instead of taking it easy it wasn’t long before he got the urge to do something exciting. And so, Thorpe Park beckoned, and he joined as a rides operator there and in 2006, became the first person to ride on Stealth, the UK’s fastest rollercoaster. Just then he pulls out an enamel lapel badge given to him that says, ‘Smooth Operator’.

Life at Whiteley is a contrast to those exciting times, but he and Barbara now have an ever-increasing number of grand and great grandchildren from their five children to keep them busy and a whole host of memories to cherish together. Thanks must go to Barbara and Dennis for sharing so much of their interesting lives and we’re thrilled to have them here with us at Whiteley Village.