Anthony Owen Leo Burke (17 January 1897 – 17 February 1942) was an Irish first-class cricketer and an officer in both the British Army and the British Indian Army.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anthony Owen Leo Burke | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 17 January 1897 British India | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 17 February 1942 (aged 45) Kyaikto, British Burma | ||||||||||||||
| Batting | Unknown | ||||||||||||||
| Role | Occasional wicket-keeper | ||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||
| 1926/27 | Europeans | ||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 6 November 2023 | |||||||||||||||
The son of Peter Joseph Burke and his wife, Mary, he was born in January 1897 in British India.[1] Burke fought in the First World War, being commissioned into the Royal Dublin Fusiliers as a second lieutenant in March 1917;[2] in April 1918, he was seconded to the British Indian Army and was granted the temporary rank of lieutenant in September 1918.[3] Following the war, he gained the full rank of lieutenant in December 1918,[4] and spent a short period as an acting captain whilst commanding a company with the 2nd and 7th Gurkha Rifles.[5] Following Irish independence in 1922, Burke remained in the British Indian Army, in which he gained the full rank of captain in November 1922.[6] Whilst in India, Burke made a single appearance in first-class cricket for the Europeans cricket team against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club at Karachi in October 1926.[7] Opening the batting once in the match, he was dismissed for 7 runs by Bob Wyatt.[8]
In November 1932, he was appointed to be an instructor,[9] with promotion to major following in November 1935.[10] By 1936, he was resident in England, where he assisted the Cranleigh School contingent of the Officers' Training Corps.[11] Burke served with the Gurkha Rifles in the Second World War, being killed in action at Kyaikto in February 1942 during the Japanese invasion of Burma;[1] he was posthumously mentioned in dispatches for his gallant and distinguished service throughout the invasion.[12] Burke's body was never recovered, but he is commemorated on the Rangoon Memorial.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c McCrery, Nigel (2011). The Coming Storm: Test and First-Class Cricketers Killed in World War Two. Vol. 2. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. p. 171. ISBN 9781526706980.
- ^ "No. 30008". The London Gazette. 3 April 1917. p. 3212.
- ^ "No. 31067". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 December 1919. p. 15013.
- ^ "No. 31343". The London Gazette. 16 May 1919. p. 6123.
- ^ "No. 31957". The London Gazette. 29 June 1920. p. 7013.
- ^ "No. 32846". The London Gazette. 20 July 1923. p. 4996.
- ^ "First-Class Matches played by Anthony Burke". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- ^ "Europeans v Marylebone Cricket Club, Marylebone Cricket Club in India and Ceylon 1926/27". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- ^ "No. 33902". The London Gazette. 13 January 1933. p. 304.
- ^ "No. 34233". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 December 1935. p. 8199.
- ^ "No. 34286". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 May 1936. p. 3297.
- ^ "No. 35763". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 October 1942. p. 4691.