Edward BOURKE [1895-1985] | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Edward BOURKE [1895-1985]

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Submitted by David on Tue, 2015-04-28 20:34
Names
Given: 
Edward
Family: 
Bourke
Sex: 
Male
Status: 
Deceased
Birth
Date: 
1895-01-02
Death
Date: 
1985-04-29

A Jesuit Father.

Dates of birth and death from: http://archives.catholic.org.hk/In%20Memoriam/Clergy-Brother/E-Bourke.htm

Tags: 
those not interned
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Comments

Submitted by anonymous-01 on Wed, 2015-04-29 02:17.

David,

My grandmother was Annie Louisa Moore Bourke. She was born in the 1880s and somewhere in the past I came acrosss a James Bourke. Think she was actually the daughter of ? Moore but also took Bourke. She had a sister Clara Moore Bourke who died in Singapore.

She also had a brother named Patrick who used Moore. If memory serves me right her mother's name was Fitzgerld and there was a Foochow connection.

Bit vague but energy level a bit low to sort through file after file and turn the Mac red hot. 

Hope this might have been some help.

Sean 

Submitted by David on Thu, 2015-04-30 16:05.

Hi Sean,

Thanks for the Bourke family info. I searched some more and found the Edward Bourke on this page didn't arrive in Hong Kong until 1930:

Father Bourke came to Hong Kong as a young Jesuit priest in 1930 and worked here for the following 25 years. He was one of the first Jesuits to teach in Wah Yan College and he became Rector shortly before the seige of Hong Kong. During the seige he showed outstanding courage in caring for the spiritual and bodily welfare of all in need. After the surrender he had the difficult task of keeping the school in being. As an Irish citizen he was not interned, but he had endless difficulties to meet. With equal fortitude and ingenuity, he overcame countless obstacles, and there was still a Wah Yan Chinese Middle - when liberation came.

After the war he taught in the two Wah Yans for about a decade - first in Hong Kong, later in Kowloon. At the end of that time he moved to Singapore, leaving behind memories, not only of his educational work, but also of much sympathetic and assiduous pastoral work. He was always a man of many friends.

From: http://archives.catholic.org.hk/In%20Memoriam/Clergy-Brother/E-Bourke.htm

There may still be a family connection, but it doesn't look as though they were closely related.

Regards, David

Submitted by anonymous-01 on Thu, 2015-04-30 17:26.

Hi David,

Thanks for that. Most interesting. The Jesuits have a long history in the East as you know. I'm sure there was no family connection. There were some relations here in Ireland who were Jesuits but to my knowledge never left the country.

Sorry for the bum steer.

Sean