David Burnford
David Burnford (full name David Wreyford Burnford; 6 January 1915 – 10 June 1984 (aged 69)) was a British-born paediatrician, competitive rower and Olympian who practised medicine in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay). He was the husband of the author Sheila Burnford and the medical partner of Dr. Stephen Morton, whose 1961 murder was never solved. Burnford took his own life in 1984 after the FBI found a large quantity of cocaine at his Colorado home.[1]
Early life and rowing
Burnford was born in Marylebone, London, on 6 January 1915, the son of a doctor. He was educated at St Paul's School and went up to Jesus College, Cambridge, where he became an accomplished oarsman. In 1935 he won the Silver Goblets at Henley with the Australian Thomas Cree, and in 1936 he rowed number four in the Cambridge crew that won the Boat Race by five lengths. That summer he represented Great Britain in the coxless pairs at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.[1][2]
Medical career
After Cambridge, Burnford became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons and worked at Guy's Hospital in London. He joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and rose to the rank of surgeon lieutenant-commander during the Second World War. In 1941 he married Sheila Every.[1]
The family emigrated to Canada in 1948, and Burnford took his certificate in paediatrics in Montreal before settling in Port Arthur.[3] By the mid-1950s he was in private practice with a fellow Cambridge man, Dr. Stephen Morton; both were paediatricians at St. Joseph's Hospital and both were highly regarded.[4] In 1958 Burnford was listed as president of St. Joseph's Hospital and sub-chief of staff for paediatrics.[3]
The Morton murder
In August 1961 Burnford's medical partner, Dr. Stephen Morton, was shot dead in his bed by an intruder; the killer was never identified. According to Olympedia, "there was unfounded speculation at the time about Burnford's possible involvement," a suspicion that resurfaced after his own death in 1984. The matter is treated in detail in the article on Stephen Morton.[1][3]
Later life and death
Burnford continued to practise in Port Arthur until 1968, when he took a post aboard a hospital ship off Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) before returning to England. He and Sheila divorced in 1972, and he moved to Florida in 1973.[3]
In 1979 Burnford was found with about 4.5 kg of cocaine in his luggage at Miami Airport; he claimed it had been planted during a stopover in Peru as he returned from the Wimbledon Championships, and charges were dropped after he passed a polygraph test. He remarried around 1980 and moved to Colorado, buying expensive homes in Aspen before relocating to Colorado Springs in 1981.[1]
On 9 June 1984 the FBI revealed that a rented car in his Colorado Springs driveway held some 16 kg (about 36 lb) of cocaine, with a street value of US$3 million. Burnford was not arrested that day, in the hope that he would cooperate with the investigation; the following day, 10 June 1984, he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.[1][5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Olympedia, "David Burnford". Olympedia records the family surname Bernstein.
- ↑ "David Burnford: From Blue Boat to Breaking Bad", Hear The Boat Sing, 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 G.G. Niemi, "Two of My Doctors Who Died by the Gun", Medium, 2022.
- ↑ Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 3 January 1957.
- ↑ Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, 19 June 1984; The Chronicle-Journal (Thunder Bay), 27 June 1984.