Alfred Thomas BURTENSHAW first joined the navy in 1922.

On 19th June 1941 his ship, H.M.S. Vanessa, was on patrol off the coast of East Anglia - she came under attack by German aircraft, which dropped a bomb on her amidships. Her boilers exploded, blew her forward funnel overboard, and killed and wounded many of her crew. The destroyer HMS Vesper eventually took Vanessa under tow and brought her to Great Yarmouth. Alfred’s body was laid to rest in the Caister Old Cemetery, Norfolk, but his name is also to be found on the St. Michael’s East Wickham Church memorial tablet.
Husband of Mabel Yolande Burtenshaw, the family lived at 100 Budleigh Crescent, Welling.
Petty Officer Alfred Burtenshaw was 36.