SEVEN patriotic brothers have marched into the Guinness Book of Records after more than 62 years.

For the Burdon brothers accomplished what must be one of the most poignant entries by all serving together in the armed forces during the Second World War.

Between them, the brothers, originally from Shildon, County Durham, were in all three of the services for a total of 96 years and seven months.

All seven joined up before the outbreak of war, little realising that, at the time, they were setting a world record.

Sydney, the eldest, was first into uniform, in 1926, with the Royal Artillery.

He was followed by Robert, the only one to join the Royal Navy, then Alfred, John, William and Stanley.

The youngest, Sydney, was the last to enlist, in 1939, with the Royal Air Force.

Alfred Burdon, 82, who now lives in Darlington, still has an article from The Northern Echo dating from 1939, which told of the brothers going off to war.

Sadly, just four of the brothers have survived to see their names go into the world-famous book.

John, who was in the Royal Signals, was killed during the war, while serving in Palestine.

Sydney and Robert have both died in the ensuing years.

Alfred said: "A few years ago my brother, Stanley, realised the seven of us serving at once was very unusual.

"He wrote to the Guinness Book of Records and they wanted all our papers, and so on, to prove what we were saying.

"It took Stanley some time to get all these things together because we didn't have copies of all our documents.

"Eventually, he sent everything off and we got this certificate saying that we hold the record for the most number of siblings to serve in World War Two."

Although the brothers originally came from Shildon, Alfred and Harold are the only two still living in the North-East, both living in Darlington.

Stanley, formerly of the Royal Air Force, is now in Cambridge, and William, who was in the Royal Artillery, lives in Gloucsteshire.

Said Alfred: "We are still in touch and are very close.

One war - seven brothers

Sidney - Oldest brother. Joined the Royal Artillery in 1939. Served throughout the war.

Robert - Only brother to serve in Royal Navy. Returned safely from the war.

John - Served in Royal Signals. Killed in Palestine during the war in a battle, just two months after a major operation.

William - Known as Bill. Served in Royal Artillery. Now lives in Gloucestershire.

Alfred - Served in Royal Marines. One of only two brothers to still live in the North-East.

Stanley - Served in Royal Air Force. Lives in Cambridge and decided to write to Guinness Book of Records to see if the brothers had a record for their service.

Harold - Youngest brother, who joined up in 1939. Served in Royal Air Force. Now lives in Darlington