The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of NX4473 Lieutenant Clarence Reginald Burke, 2/48th Battalion, Second World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Meleah Hampton, the story for this day was on NX4473 Lieutenant Clarence Reginald Burke, 2/48th Battalion, Second World War.

NX4473 Lieutenant Clarence Reginald Burke, 2/48th Battalion
DOW 7 May 1945

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lieutenant Clarence Reginald Burke.

Clarence Burke, known as “Clarrie”, was born on 27 April 1913 to George and Augusta Burke of Goulburn, New South Wales. He had been born in Nimmitabel, and little is known of his early life – including whether he grew up in Nimmitabel or in Goulburn. However, after completing his education, he went on to work for the Railway Department in Goulburn.

Clarence Burke enlisted in the second Australian Imperial Force in October 1939, and left for active service overseas with the rank of private in the first convoy to leave Australia. Serving with the 2/3rd Battalion of the 6th Division, Burke was first sent to Egypt where he continued training in the desert.

In January 1941 the 2/3rd Battalion took part in its first campaign against the Italians in eastern Libya, successfully attacking at Bardia and Tobruk. By this time Burke had been promoted to corporal. His friend, Corporal Kit Best, later told how Burke had been surrounded by six Italian tanks during the advance, and for a short period of time it was “touch and go whether he would be taken into one of the tanks as a prisoner of war or shot on the spot”. In the end, an Italian American man, serving with the Italian army in one of the tanks, persuaded the others to let Burke go: he was stripped of his equipment and turned loose. A few minutes later, Best reported, the tanks ran into an Australian anti-tank platoon and were put out of action – but, he added, “Clarrie is still going strong”.

In March the 2/3rd Battalion left Tobruk for Greece, where it engaged the German Army. Burke’s friend Bruce Emmett of Bungendore, also serving in the 2/3rd Battalion, later credited Burke with having killed “numerous Germans in Greece”. The 2/3rd Battalion was evacuated from Greece in late April, but Burke was with a contingent that remained on Crete and formed part of a composite battalion of the 16th Brigade. It was later reported that “he carried a wounded comrade from the shore to a destroyer although the … Germans were on his brigade’s heels, and the act was done under fire”.

In June and July 1941 the 2/3rd Battalion took part in the campaign in Syria and Lebanon, where again Burke proved his ability as a soldier, and by the end of the year he had been mentioned in despatches for his good work. Bruce Emmett later said that he “should definitely have been decorated for his bravery and leadership in Syria”.

After several months in Syria, the 2/3rd Battalion left for the Pacific Theatre, arriving in Melbourne in August 1942 after some time in Ceylon. The battalion’s first campaign against the Japanese was the advance along the Kokoda Trail to the Japanese beachheads between September and December 1942.

After five months in New Guinea, Burke returned to Australia and undertook training which resulted in his promotion to a commissioned rank. It was probably about this time that he transferred to the 2/48th Battalion.

The 2/48th Battalion landed on Tarakan island, off the coast of Borneo, on 1 May 1945, pushing inland towards the town and establishing a beach-head despite bitter fighting. Lieutenant Burke led a platoon to capture the southern knoll near the Lingkas track. It was soon apparent that the Japanese intended to fight for every piece of high ground.

On 7 May 1945, after several days of skirmishes, Lieutenant Clarrie Burke was shot by a Japanese rifleman. Although every effort was made to treat his wound, he died shortly afterwards.

Today Lieutenant Clarrie Burke lies in the Labuan War Cemetery in Malaysia, under the words, “His duty fearlessly and nobly done. Ever remembered”.

Clarrie’s mate Bruce Emmett later remarked, “All I can say is that the people of Goulburn who knew Clarrie, and the people who did not know him, can and must be very, very proud. Allow me to say on behalf of his mates, ‘We will not forget’.”

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Lieutenant Clarence Reginald Burke, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section