Edward Burn, law tutor and D-day hero who lived in Summertown Villa, has died

Edward Hector Burn was schooled in Oxford before becoming a gifted teacher at the University of Oxford’s Christ Church and St Hugh’s colleges.

But he also gained admiration for his bravery during the Second World War, including his role in the D-Day landings aged 21.

Edward Hector 'Teddy' Burn was born on November 20, 1922 in Gainsborough.

He attended St Edward’s School on Woodstock Road, Oxford, before starting a classics degree at Wadham College in 1941.

One year later he signed up to fight in the Second World War and did not return to Wadham until 1946.

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Dr Burn served in the 1st Buckinghamshire Battalion, part of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, landing on Normandy's Sword Beach on D-Day.

He was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery and was promoted to captain of the HQ 1st Airborne Corps.

Towards the end of the war, Dr Burn served in the Sumatra campaign with distinction.

After the conflict ended, he was invited to continue in the army as a career officer, but he elected to return to Oxford.

Upon his return to Wadham, Dr Burn chose to study law rather than classics, and became a skilled Roman lawyer.

During this time, he was taught by some of the great German scholars in exile in Oxford, such as Fritz Schulz, who had been forced to leave Nazi Germany.

Dr Burn married his first wife, Helen McConnel, in 1948 and the pair lived in Summertown Villa on Woodstock Road for more than 50 years.

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He became a fellow at Christ Church and was best known for his command of property law, winning the respect of students and colleagues alike.

Dr Burn was a fine teacher and encouraged students, even befriending them, and had a gift for finding the best in people.

Some of the country’s top judges trained under him, plus other notable figures, including the esteemed journalist Anthony Howard.

Dr Burn was so respected that his abilities transcended his work at Oxford, with one friend even recalling how the former Prime Minster Harold Macmillan suggested he go into politics.

He taught for 10 years at St Hugh’s and even spent time at City University in London, but he arguably had the biggest impact at Christ Church.

Dr Burn reformed admissions at the college and helped foster a leap in standards that re-established the University as one of the top elite law schools in the world.

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His knowledge was held in high regard and his writings remain deeply influential in the legal profession to this day.

Dr Burn had officially retired when he began tutoring at St Hugh’s, but he still left an indelible mark on how law is taught at the college.

He left Oxford soon after Helen's death in 2000 and one year later married Marilyn Kennedy-McGregor, a barrister.

The pair lived in London and Cheltenham and Dr Burn died at home on February 6, 2019.

He is survived by his wife.