Name: Augustine John Burke Rank: Private Service Number: F/57767 Service: North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regiment, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps Date of Birth: August 26, 1925 Place of Birth: River Bourgeois, Richmond Co., Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: November 25, 1943 Place of Enlistment: Halifax Co., NS Address at Enlistment: River Bourgeois, Richmond Co., Nova Scotia Age at Enlistment: 18 Height: 5 feet, 8 ½ inches Eye Colour: Brown Hair Colour: Brown Occupation: Cook, Cdn National Railways, Halifax Marital Status: Single Religion: Roman Catholic Next of Kin: Alice Burke (Mother) Date of Death: February 22, 1945 Age: 19 Cemetery: Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, Netherlands Grave: Section XI, Row A, Grave 12 Commemorated on Page 500 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on October 24 Augustine was the son of Son of Maurice ‘Morris’ Henri Burke (1888-1961) and Alice Rose (Bouchard) Burke (b. 1894), of Cannes in Richmond Co., Nova Scotia. His siblings were Aloysius Louis (1922-1998), Maria Alina (Phyllis), Ronald (b. 1924), Marie Pauline (1928-2018), Leonard Anthony (b. 1930), and Joseph Maurice. Augustine’s mother was born in Newfoundland and married Maurice in New Glasgow, NS in 1921. Augustine’s grandfather was Louis Odilon Bourque (1847-1922). Aloysius Burke, Augustine John's older brother, also served in the Canadian Army and survived a torpedo attack on the SS Caribou. This passenger boat, built in the Netherlands in 1925, participated in convoys between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. A German submarine attacked the convoy on October 14, 1942, and the Caribou was sunk. On that Wednesday morning 136 people did not survive this attack in the icy water. After enlisting in August 1943, Augustine completed his basic training at the Canadian Infantry Basic Training Centre No. 60 (Camp 60) in Yarmouth, NS, where he trained from December 10, 1943, to February 12, 1944. He received Christmas leave from December 22 to 26, 1943. Upon completing his basic training, he was transferred to Canadian Advanced Infantry Training Centre A14 at Aldershot in Kings Co., NS, and later granted pre‑embarkation leave during the summer of 1944. In September of that year, he was posted to the No. 1 Training Brigade Group at Debert, Nova Scotia. Augustine departed Canada on October 14, 1944, arriving in the United Kingdom on October 20. He was subsequently transferred from England to North‑West Europe on November 24, 1944. In February 1945, the North Nova Scotia Highlanders were heavily engaged in Operation Veritable, the Allied offensive to clear the area between the Roer and Rhine rivers. The battalion fought through flooded terrain, poor roads, and constant artillery and mortar fire as they advanced toward German positions near Emmerich and the surrounding villages. Despite mechanical failures with their Buffalo amphibious vehicles and repeated delays caused by rising water, the North Novas continued relieving units, holding ground, and preparing for counterattacks. On February 22, they were ordered to retake territory lost during a German counter‑offensive, launching a coordinated attack with support from several Canadian and British units. Under intense enemy artillery fire, A and C Companies succeeded in reaching their objectives and restoring the line. The fighting was costly, and nine soldiers were killed that day, including Private Augustine John Burke. Following his death, Augustine was first laid to rest in Bedburg, near the German city of Kalkar. On September 19, 1945, he was reinterred at the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, where he now rests in Section XI, Row A, Grave 12.

Sources: Service File - Augustine John Burke