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Cenotaph record

Thomas Denis Burke

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Portrait of Thomas Denis Burke. Image kindly provided by Shamus Burke (August 2023).

Portrait of Thomas Denis Burke. Image kindly provided by Shamus Burke (August 2023).

No Known Copyright Restrictions AWMM

Identity

About

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  • Title
  • Forenames
    Thomas Denis AWMM
  • Surname
    Burke AWMM
  • Ingoa
  • Also known as
    Tom AWMM
  • Service number
  • Gender
    Male AWMM
  • Iwi
  • Hapū
  • Waka
  • Rohe
  • Religion

Civilian life

About birth

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  • Birth
    1926 AWMM
  • Date of birth
    21 July 1926 Public - 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 on embarkation
    • WW2 Mrs Burke (mother), 12 Awamutu Street Lower Hutt AWMM
    • Son of John Thomas Burke & Rosealyn Irene Burke, Moera, Wellington Public - Adam - 17 February 2016 - http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2796415/
  • Relationship status

Service

Wars and conflicts

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Military decorations

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  • Medals and Awards

Training and Enlistment

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  • Military training
  • Branch Trade Proficiency
  • Enlistment
  • Occupation before enlistment
  • Age on enlistment

Embarkations

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Prisoner of war

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  • Capture details
  • Days interned
  • Liberation date
  • Liberation Repatriation
  • POW liberation details
  • POW serial number

Medical history

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  • Medical notes
    Killed on Active Service, Cause of Death AWMM

Last known rank

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Biographical information

Biographical information

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  • 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 AWMM
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Death

About death

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  • Death
    11 July 1942 AWMM
    Age 15 AWMM
    Atlantic Ocean AWMM
  • Date of death
  • Age at death
  • Place of death
  • Cause of death
    Killed on Active Service AWMM
  • Death notes
  • Cemetery
  • Cemetery name
  • Grave reference
  • Obituary
  • Memorial name
  • Memorial reference

Memorials

Memorial

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  • Memorial name
    Tower Hill Memorial, Trinity Square, London, England AWMM

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Sources

Sources

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  • External links
  • References
    • Lloyd's war losses : the Second World War. (1989-). (Vols. 1-2). London, England: Lloyd's of London Press. AWMM
    • Tennent, A. (2001). British and Commonwealth Merchant Ship Losses to Axis Submarines 1939-45. Gloucestershire, England: Sutton Publishing. AWMM
    • Rohwer, J. (1999). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two. London, England: Greenhill Books. AWMM
    • Sharpe, P. (1998). U-boat fact file, 1935-1945. Earl Shilton, England: Midland Publishing. AWMM
    • Jones, G. P. (1975). Under three flags : the story of Nordmark and the armed supply-ships of the German navy. London, England: Corgi. AWMM
    • Lord, W. (1982). The miracle of Dunkirk. London, England: Allen Lane. AWMM
    • 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. AWMM
    • Plummer, R. (1990). The ships that saved an army : a comprehensive record of the 1,300 "little ships" of Dunkirk. Northamptonshire, England: P. Stephens. AWMM
    • British merchant vessels lost or damaged by enemy action during Second World War, 3rd September 1939 to 2nd September 1945 AWMM
    • Hague, A. (2000). The allied convoy system, 1939-1945 : its organization, defence and operation. St Catharines, Ont.: Vanwell. AWMM
    • New Zealand Deaths Register - Merchant Navy, Archives New Zealand, Wellington (R160611) AWMM
    • [Records of NZ Seamen] / Brady - Burns, Archives New Zealand, Wellington (R10384086) AWMM
    • Atkinson, N. (2005). Hell or high water : New Zealand merchant seafarers remember the war. HarperCollins in association with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. AWMM

Contributors

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DateFirst namesLocationRelationshipContact
17 February 2016AdamaucklandOther

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