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Hoping I can find some information here. My great grandfather born and recruited in Ireland was a Sergeant Major in the Royal Munster Fusiliers, 2nd Batallion in 1901, we know this because his wife gave birth to their twin sons in Cawnpore India in February 1902 and he is listed as such on their birth certs. According to information on this website, the 2nd battalion was sent to S. Africa in December 1901. We have no record of John Burke after this time, no death, nothing, but we know his wife returned to Ireland, probably alone. If anyone can give me hints on how to find out more, would be most grateful. I did have a UK researcher try to find information last year but he just found the twins birth record and we know one of them died when their mother was travelling back to Europe on the Bavarian in 1902 from Deolali, India.

Hello,

There are a few J Burke on the roll for the Boer War in the 1st and 2nd RMFs. Do you know his regimental number? Is it 3864?

Hi,

Unfortunately, I don't have any number.

G Burke

If it is this man (surname Bourke on the supplementary roll), he earned the clasps Orange Free State, Transvaal and South Africa 1902.

There are service records for this man. Born 1872 in Saint Johns, Limerick. The papers are available at the National Archives or online, at cost, at FindmyPast (as surname Bourke and with this number).

Again, we have no birth cert for him, we know he married twice in Ireland, no record of 1st marriage, 2nd time in Dublin when he was a widow and he was a soldier. He was stationed in Co. Kerry around 1897 and then they must have been sent to India around 1899, twins born in 1902. My gut feeling is that he died either through illness or injury during the war and she left India to come home, a widow with her 5 children!

There is a Sergeant Major John Burke mentioned in this article but its probably not him.

www.angloboerwar.com/books/77-romer-the-...594-romer-heidelberg