BURKE, Claude William
| Service Number: | 3746 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 11th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Leederville, Western Australia, 1 June 1898 |
| Home Town: | Leederville, Vincent, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Fireman |
| Died: | Septic shock, Miami, Florida, USA , 1946 |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 3746, 11th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: RMS Mongolia embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 3746, 11th Infantry Battalion, RMS Mongolia, Fremantle |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Victoria Ferrelli
Claude William Burke married Dora Margaret Alexandra Howe after returning home to Australia from World War I.
He and his older brother, Arthur, enlisted and when they returned home, they found a new woman in their mother's bed. It seems their mother, Ellen Elizabeth died suddenly October 31, 1915, while they were away in the trenches and the woman they found was their stepmother. Their surprise was eclipsed by the fact that stepmother had a baby in her arms. Their father, Philip Henry Burke, never troubled to tell his sons of their mother's passing. They had a younger sister, 10 year-old Aurelia Susannah whom everyone called “Rell”. Enraged at his father's betrayal, Claude turned around and walked out of the house, never to return.
Claude made his way across the country from Wagga Wagga to New South Wales. He was a prospector, digging for gold, he mined opals, searching for his big discovery, and did whatever menial tasks he could find to keep body and soul together.
I have no record of when and where Claude met Dora but meet they did. Dora was the baby of a well-to-do family with 10 siblings and was close to her mother. Baby pictures of Dora reveal a striking similarity to her daughter, Vivian; they could pass for sisters, so closely do they resemble each other.
Claude was a gad about, apparently a charmer, what we would call a bull---t artist today. He convinced Dora he was born in Galveston, Texas (why, I could not tell you) or maybe it was Phoenix, Arizona, I'm not too sure but she bought his stories, especially when he said he wanted to get “back home”, presumably to America.
They married, possibly in 1921 and set sail to America soon after. Their son, Edward was born, followed by Vivian, four years later. The family lived in an apartment in Windsor when a fire tore through the building. Fortunately, they escaped but unfortunately, they lost everything not only from the fire, but what was not burned was stolen.
He died October 14, 1946 from peritonitis.
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