Address by Johanna Nesbitt Daughter of Edmund Bourke VX 134084 - ANNUAL COMMEMORATION CEREMONY, LOVEKIN DRIVE, KINGS PARK, 16 NOVEMBER 2025

[Edward Willis]

Distinguished guests, veterans, family members and friends.

It is an honour and privilege to be with you today to pay tribute to my father, Edmund Bourke, a proud Australian soldier who served with the 2/2nd commandos in New Britain.

I would like to begin by thanking those of you who have served and who are currently serving our great country.  The freedoms we enjoy so easily today, are thanks to your commitment and dedication and the sacrifices you make for us.

I would also like to acknowledge the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation, on whose land we gather today.

Thank you for inviting me to speak about dad’s wartime history and the infamous flag which many of you may have seen and for welcoming mum and I here today.

A brief timeline of dad’s service – In Jan 1942 he answered the call for volunteers and joined the militia; he was first posted to Infantry Unit 2 Brigade.  Before he could be posted, he was claimed by his brother Matthew and transferred to his unit, 4th Division Signals where he was trained as a signalman.  After the bombing of Darwin, in April 1942 he was transferred to Geraldton, crossing the Nullarbor by cattle train, to assist in the defence of Western Australia.  He served both as a signalman and as a driver in the Transport division.  Then in February 1943, he was posted to Fortress Signals on Rottnest Island to help in the installation of the large guns capable of protecting Fremantle from shelling by Japanese ships.  In April 1943 he joined the 2nd AIF and was posted to Townsville as a linesman.  Once again across the Nullarbor on a cattle train.  In his notes he writes that it was on that train journey that he first came across the 2/2nd unit.  Wanting to see action and having had several requests for transfers denied, he was finally given his wish and transferred to the 2/2nd unit and headed to New Britain.  After the Japanese surrender, he served in Rabaul guarding the Japanese POW’s. [2]

Like so many of his era, he did not believe war should be glorified and for many years he struggled with the concept of participating in any events on Anzac Day.  It was only after he reconnected through this group, that he and mum began attending the safaris and other events.  They created many fond memories from travels with his comrades, many of which are your relatives.  Bluey Bone, and Jack Carey to name a couple.

Whilst not glorifying his days in action, he got a glint in his eye every so often when he recounted a mischievous story, usually involving some disciplinary action.  They range from rolling a truck, because he was unlicenced and had fibbed about his age, to riding bareback across the great rivers of northern Queensland to patrol the telegraph lines, crossing croc infested waters.

IJN Kashima 1940 at Shanghai [3]

The best of the stories is his version of ‘acquiring’ the Japanese flag.  Dad told us that at the end of the war, when his unit were guarding the Japanese prisoners of war on their ships in Rabaul, he was dared by his mates, to sneak onto their cruiser, the Kashima, and procure the ship’s flag from atop the flagpole.  He took up the challenge, which he claimed couldn’t be any harder than the coconut picking he had been doing.  When he had shimmied to the top of the flagpole, in the process of releasing the flag, he was spotted by a Japanese soldier, and the alarm was raised.  To escape, he dived from the pole into the waters below, with said flag tucked into his shorts.  It was reported that the ship’s commander was irate and demanded a beheading over the incident.  The Australian army replied that they had investigated, and no culprit could be found.  Lucky for me!

Japanese flag signed by 2/2 Commando Squadron members, Rabaul, late 1945

For many years we believed this to be the flag you now have in your charge, signed by members of the unit.  However, the silk flag you have, was not typical of the flags used on ships and there is another flag which probably fits this story more.

This raises the question, where did this signed flag come from?  And how did it end up in dad’s possession.  Sadly, the true story is lost forever but we can only assume that he was given it for safe keeping by the unit.  For more than 40 years it remained in a glass, Ponds, make-up jar in the back of his wardrobe.  When he brought it out to show us, we had it framed for him for his 70th birthday.  It has hung in dad’s office for more than 30 years, until mum chose to donate it to you last year.

So, whilst there is some confusion about the origin of the flag that you now have in your trust, it tells the story of the many men who courageously fought alongside each other in true Aussie mateship. [4]

In dad’s notes that he wrote not long before he died, after much coercion by mum, he writes - “the 6 months spent with the 2/2 commandos, was the highlight of my army experience.  It gave me the satisfaction of doing what I wanted, it was a very hard experience though”.  He went to New Britian as a signalman, found the American flag flying at half-mast for the death of President Roosevelt, told his CO that he had “had signals” and he arranged his transfer to the 2/2 which came with a pay cut of 2 shillings/day.  He speaks of ‘bouncing around like a cork’ in a flat bottom barge as they moved up the east coast of New Britain to a new camp near Rabaul.

Map of Lt. Fox Patrol [5]

He was sent to C troop who were manning the centre point on the neck of the Peninsula.  It was from here that he embarked on what he claimed to be the toughest and most rewarding experience of his life.  They set out on a five-day patrol to check on the enemy, which turned out to be 24 days of torture.  It rained incessantly; they couldn’t wear socks of undies and had to carry one of their own backs on a makeshift stretcher.  He notes that “he climbed hand over hand, up a perpendicular mountain for a whole morning”, and on another day, “walking through knee deep water so they couldn’t be tracked”.  They had turned yellow due to the anti-malarial’s, and he was sick for several days from exhaustion and starvation, when they returned to camp. [6]

No one had ever been able to engage dad in any conversation about the war.  It was off limits and out of respect, only being able to imagine what he experienced, it was never pursued.  When I was in my early 30s and dad his early 80s, I had the honour of accompanying him to Gallipoli on an RSL tour.  That trip changed my understanding of what dad went through during his service and deepened my respect and love for him.  I spent two weeks listening to dad recount stories with other veterans on the trip.  The most memorable was from an 85-year-old veteran, Fred, who told a good yarn, the best of which was about him surviving the sinking of the HMAS Perth and then being the only survivor of a Japanese firing squad.  He and nine others had successfully escaped from their prisoner of war camp, only to be dobbed in by locals and recaptured.  They were all put before a firing squad and as the commander counted down from ten, he stopped at one and pulled Fred out of the lineup because he had radio skills that they needed.

It's hard to put into words my gratitude to dad and his fellow soldiers; for his courage and loyalty; for his sacrifice and our freedom.

A man of outstanding integrity, respect, humility, honesty and sincerity.  A young man whose youth was stolen by war; a lucky man to have returned home to a supportive family and community.  Thank you, dad, for showing me what true loyalty and love look like; you were not only brave in war, but brave in life.  We remember you with gratitude, respect and love.

Thank you once again for inviting me to speak today.

REFERENCES

[1] ”Edmund Meskill BOURKE” https://doublereds.org.au/history/men-of-the-22/vx/edmund-meskill-bourke-r323/

[2] For Edmund Bourke’s service record, see “BOURKE EDMUND MESKILL : Service Number - VX134084 : Date of birth - 08 Feb 1922 : Place of birth - STH MELBOURNE VIC : Place of enlistment - NAVAL BASE WA : Next of Kin - BOURKE E” NAA: B883, VX134084 https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=6669689&isAv=N

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IJN_Kashima_1940_at_Shanghai.jpg

[4] Col Doig describes one potential origin for the flag - “The boys had a good look around the area of the gardens the Japs had set out and where the main body of the Japs were now encamped.  Some of the shrewd heads knew there was a big cave full of Jap gear such as swords, binoculars and many other things.  Blokes who had seen it said it looked like an Aladdin's Cave, such was the gear there.  It was guarded by Aussie M.P.s.  The shrewdies used to bribe the M.P.s and get in for an hour or so, and grab all they could, especially swords, revolvers and binoculars which they could carry out and still walk.  These of course were flogged back in Australia later and the shrewdies made a lot of money.  Lt. Fullarton told us that he and Major Baldwin went in one day and came out with enough binoculars to outfit his whole gang” in C.D. Doig. - A history of the 2nd Independent Company and 2/2 Commando Squadron / compiled by C.D. Doig. - Carlisle, W.A. : Hesperian Press, 2009. [First published: 1986]: 244.

[5] Doig: 234.

[6] On this patrol, see also Doig: 241 and Cyril Ayris. - All the Bull's men : No. 2 Australian Independent Company (2/2nd Commando Squadron). - [Perth, W.A.] : 2/2nd Commando Association, 2006: 480-481.

 

[Edward Willis]

HANDOVER OF JAPANESE FLAG TO SAS HISTORICAL FOUNDATION COLLECTION - Campbell Barracks - Monday 5 January 2026
Further to our post of December 8, 2025 the Japanese flag was handed over in a simple ceremony at Campbell Barracks last Monday in the presence of Bourke family members, 2/2 and a small group of 2/2 Commando Association of Australia committee members and supporters.
Edmund Bourke’s widow Dorothy very kindly donated the flag to the Association.  It has been professionally restored and mounted for display.
Greg Mawkes, Chair of the SAS Historical Foundation advised:
“… we were gifted the [an]other captured Japanese flag signed by members of 2/2 Commando Squadron in 1945.  The second flag would be a welcome addition to our collection as we can display it in the SASR HQ where members of the Regiment can see and appreciate the benchmark for physical and mental toughness, adaptability, flexibility, resilience, and courage that was set by men on whose shoulders we stand”.
2/2 President, Noel Strickland thanked Greg for accepting the flag into the Foundation’s collection and the hospitality provided to those attending on the day, including morning tea and a guided tour.