Peter Joseph Burke
Trooper · NZ #17545 · T2 Patrol
| Rank | Trooper |
|---|---|
| Service number | NZ #17545 |
| Patrol | T2 Patrol |
| Born | 1917-09-04 |
| Died | 1979-11-23 |
| Record | https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/145776 |
What this roll records
HE DIED SUDDENLY ON 23 NOVEMBER 1979 AT GORE, AGED 63, which agrees with the birth date already on this card, 4 September 1917. The Press notice gives his service in full at the head of it — “BURKE, Peter Joseph (17545, Trooper, L.R.D.G., 2nd N.Z.E.F.), of Racecourse Road, Gore” — and THE NUMBER AND THE RANK ARE BOTH THIS CARD’S OWN. He was the father and father-in-law of Michael and Mary of Blenheim, Colin of Christchurch, and Kevin and Shirley of Pleasant Point, and the grandfather of Imelda, Siobhan, Bridgit, Lisa, Teresa, Christopher and Richard. R.I.P. His funeral was at Gore on 27 November after a service at 10 a.m.; messages went to 72 Salford Street, Gore. Source: the Press, 26 November 1979, via Papers Past (National Library of New Zealand).
Patrol T2: "injured Tpr P.J. Burke ... his T2 Patrol comrades" (evacuated by LRDG Waco AX697). Brendan O'Carroll, "The Long Range Desert Group in North Africa".
Barce Raid, Sept 1942 (courtesy Tarek el Mahdy): Jeep T driver — WIA / T6
Full name Peter Joseph Burke. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph.
The Kiwi Scorpions (Brendan O'Carroll): Tpr P. J. Burke — taxi driver; born Gore, 4 Sep 1917; wounded 14 Sep 1942 and 25 Nov 1942.
Drove the jeep carrying Captain Wilder out of Barce (13–14 September 1942); dazzled by Wilder’s tracer fire he struck a kerb and overturned, pinning and injuring the crew before they were extricated. Source: ‘The Barce Raid’, Episodes & Studies Vol. 1 (NZ official war history).
Taxi driver; born Gore, 4 Sep 1917. Wounded 14 Sep 1942 and 25 Nov 1942. Source: Episodes & Studies Vol. 1 (biographical notes).
Took part in the Barce Raid with T1 Patrol, 13/14 September 1942. Source: Brendan O’Carroll, ‘The Kiwi Scorpions’ (Appendix VIII, T1 Patrol members who took part in the Barce Raid, September 1942).
See him in the full roll →Where this comes from
- Additional sources (AWMM Online Cenotaph). Nominal Roll 2NZEF No. 4 (Embarkations 1 Apr–30 Jun 1941), p.49. Unit history: Loughnan, R. (1963). Divisional Cavalry.
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Not By Strength But By Guile