THE Ministry of Defence (MOD) in the UK is appealing for relatives of a Dublin born lieutenant killed in World War Two to get in touch with them.
At just 25 years of age, Lieutenant (Lt) Edmund Seymour Burke should have had his whole life before him but instead he was killed along with his colleague when their Fairey Fulmar II aircraft crash landed in the Barents Sea, in 1941.
Edmund, who was born in Dublin on August 11, 1916, enlisted into the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in July 1940. Before his military service he was a tea broker.
Lt Burke was a member of the Fleet Air Arm (the Royal Navy’s ‘flyers’) on board HMS Furious, which was taking part in Operation EF in the Barents Sea in July 1941.
His plane took off from the aircraft carrier on 31 July but crash landed into the sea with smoke pouring from its engine. The two crew members bailed out and were seen getting into their dinghy, which washed ashore a few days later.
Both Lt Burke and his colleague were dead and their remains buried in an ‘unknown’ grave on the Rybachiy Peninsula in northern Russia.
Louise Dorr, from the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre says they don’t know a lot about Edmund and are keen to know more.
“Edmund’s records don’t give us a great deal of information about him,” she said.
“All we know is his date of birth and his civilian occupation. There are no details of his parents or any other family.
“Sadly, that’s all we know of him and would love to hear from anyone who might be able to help us trace the whereabouts of his family.”
If you can help with tracing Edmund’s family, call Louise on 0044 (0)1452 712612 extension 5465 or email her on: DBS-JCCCCommem4SO3@mod.uk.