Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Martin Bernard Burke
In memory of:
Engineer Martin Bernard Burke
February 4, 1942
Military Service
47
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
M.V. Montrolite (Montreal, Québec) (142843)
Additional Information
March 27, 1894
Galagary’s Range, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
Baptized Martin Joseph Burke.
Son of Martin Burke and Mary Anne Kelly, of Newfoundland. Husband of Annie Patience Gosse. Father of Frederick Harold Burke. Brother of Fred Burke, of Saint John's, Newfoundland.
On February 5, 1942, at 1:42 a.m., U-109 launched two torpedoes that hit the Montrolite in the stern. At 2:32 a.m., the tanker received her coup de grace and sank southeast of Bermuda in the Caribbean Sea, position 35°14'N/60°05'W.
Commemorated on Page 104 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
Burial Information
HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada
Panel 22
The HALIFAX MEMORIAL in Nova Scotia's capital, erected in Point Pleasant Park, is one of the few tangible reminders of the men who died at sea. Twenty-four ships were lost by the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War and nearly 2,000 members of the RCN lost their lives. This Memorial was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and was unveiled in November 1967 with naval ceremony by H.P. MacKeen, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, in the presence of R. Teillet, then Minister of Veterans Affairs. The monument is a great granite Cross of Sacrifice over 12 metres high, clearly visible to all ships approaching Halifax. The cross is mounted on a large podium bearing 23 bronze panels upon which are inscribed the names of over 3,000 Canadian men and women who were buried at sea. The dedicatory inscription, in French and English, reads as follows:
1918-1945
IN THE HONOUR OF
THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF THE NAVY
ARMY AND MERCHANT NAVY
OF CANADA
WHOSE NAMES
ARE INSCRIBED HERE
THEIR GRAVES ARE UNKNOWN
BUT THEIR MEMORY
SHALL ENDURE.
On June 19, 2003, the Government of Canada designated September 3rd of each year as a day to acknowledge the contribution of Merchant Navy Veterans.
Digital Collection
-
Details
Merchant Navy Monument in St. John's, NL -
Details
Dedication
Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial
To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.
- Date modified: