BOURKE, Walter Joseph
| Service Number: | QX20461 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 July 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/26th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Quirindi, New South Wales, Australia, 9 January 1920 |
| Home Town: | Uralla, Uralla, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Uralla Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Illness, Burma, 25 August 1943, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, (Burma) Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, Thanbyuzayat, Mon State, Myanmar |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, QX20461 | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jul 1941: | Enlisted | |
| 3 Jul 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX20461, 2nd/26th Infantry Battalion | |
| 25 Aug 1943: | Discharged |
Help us honour Walter Joseph Bourke's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Sharyn Smith
Walter Joseph Bourke, fourth child, second son of John Thomas Bourke and Gertrude Grace Bourke (nee Chambers). Wally was born in Quirindi on Jan 9 1921. Not exactly sure at which age, but his parents then moved to Uralla, walking all the way whilst pushing babies in a pram. Certainly was a feat in those days.
This is not so much a biography of my uncle Wal, that I never met, but this little excert is from one of his mates that met after their join up in the army. I do not have the authority to mention this gentleman's name, but on his return from Changi, he kept in touch with my grandparents, (Wals' mum and dad).
Apparently Wal (with a couple of mates)use to sneak out of camp through the wire and contact the chinese buy food and sell it to the boys. From the stories that I heard from his sister, uncle Wal was definately a larrikan. I certainly would have loved to have know him.
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