Thomas Denis Burke
Born 1926 - Died 11 Jul 1942
- Service number
- —
- Also known as
- Tom AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Merchant Navy AWMM
- Last rank
- Seaman AWMM Merchant Navy, SS Port Hunter AWMM
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- Thomas Denis AWMM
- Surname
- Burke AWMM
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- Tom AWMM
- Service number
- —
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- —
- Religion
- —
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 1926 AWMM
- Date of birth
- 21 Jul 1926Public - Adam - 17 February 2016 - http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/person/26893.html
- Place of birth
- —
- Birth notes
- —
- Address before enlistment
- WW2 Lower Hutt AWMM
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- WW2 Mrs Burke (mother), 12 Awamutu Street Lower Hutt AWMM
- Son of John Thomas Burke & Rosealyn Irene Burke, Moera, WellingtonPublic - Adam - 17 February 2016 - http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2796415/
- Relationship status
- —
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
- Campaign
- Battle of Atlantic AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Merchant Navy AWMM
- Service number
- —
- Military service
- —
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- —
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- —
- Branch Trade Proficiency
- —
- Enlistment
- —
- Age on enlistment
- —
- Occupation before enlistment
- —
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW2 Deck Boy (MN)/Military Records of NZ Seamen (R10384086) Merchant Navy, MV Maunganui Records of NZ Seamen (R10384086) Merchant Navy AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
- —
- POW liberation details
- —
- Liberation Repatriation
- —
- POW serial number
- —
Medical history
- Medical notes
- Killed on Active Service, Cause of Death AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- Seaman AWMM
Merchant Navy, SS Port Hunter AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Thomas Burke was the son of John Thomas Burke and Rosealyn Irene Burke, Moera, Wellington.
SS Port Hunter was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U582 (Commanded by Schulte) in the Atlantic west of Madeira, in position 31 north 24 west while sailing independently on a voyage from Liverpool to Durban and Auckland via the Panama Canal. The submarine which was a part of HAI (Shark) patrol group of 6 U Boats. SS Port Hunter carried 5 passengers and general cargo, including ammunition. The ship was dispersed from convoy OS33 comprising 31 ships. The Master, Captain John B Bradley, 67 crew, 14 gunners and passengers were lost. Three crew were rescued by HMS Pelican.
"Fifteen New Zealand teenagers are known to have lost their lives during the war, including Thomas Burke and Edward Walls, two 15-year-old deck boys on the Port Hunter, which was torpedoed off West Africa in 1942. These two teenagers were almost certainly the youngest New Zealanders killed in combat during the 20th century." 'No grave but the sea', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/the-merchant-navy/no-grave-but-the-sea, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 21-Sep-2022
Thomas Denis Burke (21 July 1926 – 11 July 1942) was a New Zealand Merchant Navy seaman who lost his life during World War II (1939–1945) at just 15 years of age. Born in Wellington and raised in Lower Hutt, he went to sea as a deck boy, part of a cohort of young New Zealanders whose wartime service took place in civilian shipping rather than uniformed forces. He was the son of John Thomas Burke and Rosealyn Irene Burke (also recorded as Rosalyn).
According to family recollections, Thomas went to sea alongside his close friend Edward Hugh Walls, also from Lower Hutt. Known within the family as “Tom and Teddy”, the boys travelled to England as deck boys in early 1942. Their ship undertook a voyage to Rio de Janeiro before returning to England, after which both signed on to SS Port Hunter. In July 1942, while sailing independently in the Atlantic west of Madeira, the Port Hunter was torpedoed by a German submarine. Thomas and Edward were among the 89 people killed in the sinking, including seven New Zealanders.
Aged just 15, Thomas Denis Burke and Edward Hugh Walls are believed to have been the youngest New Zealanders killed in conflict during the 20th century. Thomas’s story has been preserved through the efforts of his family, particularly his brother Shamus Burke, who later shared the only known photograph of Thomas to support the commemoration of Merchant Navy service. Thomas is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London, and in the World War II Hall of Memories at Auckland War Memorial Museum (Profile written for “A Flight to Remember”, an Anzac Day 2026 initiative by Online Cenotaph and Air New Zealand). AWMM
About death
- Death
- 11 Jul 1942 AWMM
Age 15 AWMM - Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- Killed on Active Service AWMM
- Death notes
- —
- Cemetery
- Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 2 Hall of Memories AWMM
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- —
- Memorial name
- —
- Memorial reference
- —
Memorial
- Memorial name
- Tower Hill Memorial, Trinity Square, London, England AWMM
Related Serviceperson
Sources
- External links
- Brian Watson's website. Tower Hill.
http://www.benjidog.co.uk/Tower%20Hill/index.html
Further Reference - 'Roll of Honour, 1939-45', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/the-merchant-navy/roll-of-honour, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 19-Dec-2017
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/the-merchant-navy/roll-of-honour
Further Reference - 'No grave but the sea', (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 21-Sep-2022
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/the-merchant-navy/no-grave-but-the-sea
Further Reference
- Brian Watson's website. Tower Hill.
- References
- Lloyd's war losses : the Second World War. (1989-). (Vols. 1-2). London, England: Lloyd's of London Press.
- Tennent, A. (2001). British and Commonwealth Merchant Ship Losses to Axis Submarines 1939-45. Gloucestershire, England: Sutton Publishing.
- Rohwer, J. (1999). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two. London, England: Greenhill Books.
- Sharpe, P. (1998). U-boat fact file, 1935-1945. Earl Shilton, England: Midland Publishing.
- Jones, G. P. (1975). Under three flags : the story of Nordmark and the armed supply-ships of the German navy. London, England: Corgi.
- Lord, W. (1982). The miracle of Dunkirk. London, England: Allen Lane.
- Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1941). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 3 (Embarkations from 1st July, 1940 to 31st March, 1941). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
- Plummer, R. (1990). The ships that saved an army : a comprehensive record of the 1,300 "little ships" of Dunkirk. Northamptonshire, England: P. Stephens.
- British merchant vessels lost or damaged by enemy action during Second World War, 3rd September 1939 to 2nd September 1945
- Hague, A. (2000). The allied convoy system, 1939-1945 : its organization, defence and operation. St Catharines, Ont.: Vanwell.
- New Zealand Deaths Register - Merchant Navy, Archives New Zealand, Wellington (R160611)
- [Records of NZ Seamen] / Brady - Burns, Archives New Zealand, Wellington (R10384086)
- Atkinson, N. (2005). Hell or high water : New Zealand merchant seafarers remember the war. HarperCollins in association with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
- This record was part of “A Flight to Remember”, an Anzac Day 2026 commemorative partnership between Online Cenotaph and Air New Zealand, where service stories were shared onboard a dawn flight from Auckland to Sydney.
The development of the Online Cenotaph is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. In some cases, records have yet to be confirmed by Museum staff, and there could be mistakes or omissions in the information provided.
Online Cenotaph Data by Auckland War Memorial Museum is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.