Wilfred Burchett was born in Cambridge, England, in 1911. He was educated at the University of London, and then joined the Foreign Office. He was awarded the George Medal for his work with the Free French Forces in the D-Day landings. After service in India and Germany during World War II, he returned to Europe where he worked for UNESCO and then for the Commonwealth Relations Office
In 1947 he became a British citizen. Burchett was a prolific writer but best known for his travel books, which were a mixture of political commentary, history and travelogue.
In this first testing ground of the atomic bomb I have seen the most terrible and frightening desolation in four years of war. It makes a blitzed Pacific island seem like an Eden. The damage is far greater than photographs can show.Wilfred Burchett
My anger with the US was not at first, that they had used that weapon - although that anger came later.Wilfred Burchett
