SERVICE PERSON RESEARCH
SERVICE PERSON DETAILS
Service Person’s
Name
William Joseph Bourke
Rank
Private
Service Number
5347
Regiment/Unit or
Ship or Squadron
12th Australian Infantry Battalion
Date of Birth
1890
Place of Birth
Mareeba, Queensland
Family Details
Mother: Mrs E Bourke
Age at Enlistment
Thursday, 20 January 1916 (26)
Place of Enlistment
Sydney
Date of Death
Friday, 2 November 1917
Place of Death
Belgium
Cemetery or
Memorial Name
Grave or Memorial
Number
Menin Gate (Ypres)
Panel 7 -17 – 23 – 25 – 27 – 29 – 31
PHOTO:
Source: WWI Pictorial Honour Role of Queenslanders 2015, William Joseph Bourke,
http://qld.ww1anzac.com/bo.html (accessed 1 February 2015)
SERVICE PERSON’S STORY/EULOGY:
Prepared by Jacob Cookson
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind
him.” ― G.K. Chesterton
Private William Joseph Bourke knew from the second he enlisted in the First World War what he was
risking; more than anything he could have managed to comprehend prior to the war, more than his own
life.
He enlisted in the Australian war efforts in Sydney, and later appointed to the 12th Australian Infantry
Battalion, in order to protect what he was leaving behind - his mother Mrs E Bourke, his rural birth and
hometown of Mareeba and Cairns.
For many the thought of signing yourself up for a fate unknown was and is incomprehensible. The courage
and valour shown as soon as men such as Private Bourke enlisted is ever-present.
On 20 April 1916, after several weeks of drills and preparation, William Joseph Bourke travelled to a world
unknown in the form of the Western Front via the SS Hawkes Bay.
After over a year of service to the war efforts of Australia, Private William Joseph Bourke was killed in
action on the battlefields of Belgium on the 2 November 1917. He is honoured at Menin Gate, Ypres, Panel
7 -17 – 23 – 25 – 27 – 29 – 31.
The legacy of many Anzac soldiers, including Private William Joseph Bourke, laid to rest protecting what
they love is an attribute that can only be seem as admirable. This legacy lives on.
Lest we forget.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
ACT Memorial 2015, Murray, Ernest http://www.memorial.act.gov.au/person.php?id=3044
(accessed 9 February2015)
Australian War Memorial 2015, Exhibitions – Ernest Murray
https://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/salute/community/murray/
(accessed 29 January 2015)
Australian War Memorial 2015, Roll of Honour: William Joseph Bourke
https://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1660652/ (accessed 1 February 2015)
Good Reads 2015, Quotes on War: G.K. Chesterton http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/war
(accessed 12 February 2015)
Murray, J 2008, Active Service Diaries of Sergt. Murray, Ernest, Fyshwick, Canberra, Australia.
National Archives of Australia 2015, Bourke William Joseph : SERN 5347,
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3101476
(accessed 1 February 2015)
The AIF Project 2015, William Joseph Bourke https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=28057
(accessed 1 February 2015)