Charles Burke (British Army officer)

Charles James Burke
Burke in the uniform of the Royal Flying Corps
Born	1881 or 82
Died	9 April 1917 Near Arras, France
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit	Royal Irish Regiment Royal Flying Corps
Battles/wars	Boer War World War I
Awards	Distinguished Service Order

Lieutenant-Colonel Charles James Burke^[1] DSO (1881 or 82 – 9 April 1917) was an officer in the Royal Irish Regiment^[2] and the Royal Flying Corps and a military aviation pioneer.

Charles Burke was born in 1881 or 1882 and he was the youngest son of the Mr M C C Burke of Ballinhone House, Armagh, Ireland.^[3]

Military service before World War I

Burke's military service began as a soldier in the British Army and he served in the Boer War during which time he received the Queen's medal with two clasps.^[3] In 1902, at the end of the War, he was commissioned into the Royal Irish Regiment and after several years of regimental service, including three years with the West African Frontier Force,^[3] he was promoted to captain in September 1909. The following year Burke travelled to France where he learned to fly in a Farman biplane, gaining his Aéro-Club de France certificate in the process.^[4]

After his return to England, Burke was employed at the Army's Balloon School.^[4][5] In early 1911, Burke was involved in conducting heavier-than-air aircraft tests at the Balloon Factory. On 7 January 1911 Burke flew a Farman aircraft for two miles over Loaffan's Plain at 50 to 80 feet and landed near the Balloon Factory. A few minutes later, Burke attempted a second flight. However, after only 50 yards he stalled and the aircraft came to earth on its right wing, cart-wheeled and disintegrated. Burke received injuries in the crash.^[6] Despite this experience, Burke was not deterred from flying. In July of the same year, he flew from Salisbury Plain to Aldershot and back and later on he made a return flight to Oxford.^[7]

Burke was also one of the earliest British Army officers to consider air power in depth. In 1911, whilst serving as a captain in the Air Battalion, Burke wrote the first air power article to be published in the Royal United Services Institute Journal. In his article Burke compared the reconnaissance activities of cavalry to those of aircraft and observed that just as opposing cavalry might be drawn into battle, so could aircraft.^[8]

In 1912 Burke wrote his 29 maxims for flying, including:^[9]

When training pilots, no machine should go without knowing what it is to do, do it and it alone, then land.

Also in 1912, Burke became the commanding officer of the Flying Corps' No. 2 Squadron. During the next two years, Burke trained his squadron in aerial reconnaissance.^[10]

Also, in September 1912, Burke took part in the Army Manoeuvres. Burke was responsible for the control of nine aircraft under the direction of Major Frederick Sykes.^[11]

World War I

Burke (as a brevet major) was mentioned in Sir John French’s despatch on 8 October 1914. The following month, on 29 November 1914, Burke was appointed the first commanding officer of No. 2 Wing of the Royal Flying Corps and he set up his headquarters at Saint-Omer. His wing comprised Nos 5 and 6 Squadrons.^[12] In 1915 Burke was involved in recruiting for the Royal Flying Corps in Canada. As well as directly recruiting personnel, Burke suggested that training aerodromes might be established in Canada under British control.^[13] For some months during 1916, Burke served as the Commandant of the Central Flying School.^[14]

In the summer of 1916 Burke rejoined his old regiment, the Royal Irish Regiment, which was suffering a severe shortage of officers. He was killed in action on the 9 April 1917, the first day of the Battle of Arras.^[4][15] He had been commanding a battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment.^[3]

References

1. ^ Haffenden, John (2005). "A horrid little boy, airing my views". William Empson: Among the Mandarins. Oxford University Press. pp. 41. ISBN 0199276595. http://books.google.com/?id=ldNbswR3jQYC&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=burke+%22royal+flying+corps%22. Retrieved 2007-11-10. 
2. ^ "Om Royal Flying Corps i 1914, Del 2" (in Danish). Chakoten - Dansk Militærhistorisk Selskab. http://www.chakoten.dk/rfc_1914_2.html. Retrieved 2007-11-10. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} "Personals". Flight IX (16): 375. 19 April 1917. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1917/1917%20-%200375.html. Retrieved 2009-01-05. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Raleigh, Sir Walter Alexander; Jones, Henry Albert (1922). The war in the air; being the story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force. Oxford Clarendon Press. pp. 251 to 252. http://www.archive.org/details/warinairbeingsto01raleuoft. 
5. ^ "May 1912 - Major G J Burke". II(AC) Sqn Association Web Site. http://www.twosqnassoc.co.uk/pages/bosses/burke.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
6. ^ Jenkins, Garry (2000). Colonel Cody and the Flying Cathedral. New York: Picador USA. ISBN 9780312241803. 
7. ^ Turner, Charles Cyril (1972) [1927]. "Government and Flying". The Old Flying Days. Ayer Publishing. pp. 297. ISBN 040503783X. http://books.google.com/?id=VAn3ySgxNXkC&pg=PA297&lpg=PA297&dq=%22cj+burke%22+corps. Retrieved 2007-11-10. 
8. ^ Mason, Tony (2000). "Rethinking the Conceptual Framework". In Peter W Gray. Air Power 21 - Challenges for the New Century. The Stationary Office. pp. 229. ISBN 0117729604. 
9. ^ Jupp, John (2005) [2005]. "4 Leadership in the Air (The Art of Leadership in the Air)". In Jupp, John (pdf). Air Force Leadership - Beyond Command?. Grint, Keith. Royal Air Force Leadership Centre. pp. 74. ISBN 095521890X. http://www.raf.mod.uk/RAFLeadershipcentre/rafcms/mediafiles/DC656012_1143_EC82_2E97BC0FB633655F.pdf. 
10. ^ "II (AC) Squadron History WWI". Royal Air Force web site. Royal Air Force. 2006. http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafmarham/aboutus/2sqnhistorywwi.cfm. Retrieved 2007-11-10. 
11. ^ "British Notes of the Week - Air Work at the Army Manoeuvres". Flight IV (35): 802. 31 August 1912. http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1912/1912%20-%200802.html. Retrieved 2007-11-10. 
12. ^ Dye, Peter (15 September 2003). "British Air Services Memorial St Omer". RAF Personnel and Training Command website. http://192.5.30.122/ptc/stomernrfc.html. Retrieved 2007-11-10. 
13. ^ Heide, Rachel Lea (2 November 2002). "The Struggle to Define and Integrate Alliance Commitments and National Sovereignty in Canada: Lessons from Air Training Plan Negotiations in the First and Second World Wars". http://www.cda-cdai.ca/symposia/2002/heidi.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-11. ^{[dead link]}
14. ^ Barrass, Malcolm (2007-09-25). "Other Establishments - Flying Schools and Colleges". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. http://www.rafweb.org/Estab.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-11. 
15. ^ CWGC entry

External links

• II(AC) Sqn Association - Major Burke

Military offices
Preceded by H R M Brooke-Popham	Officer Commanding No. 2 Squadron 20 May 1912 – 10 November 1914	Succeeded by G W P Dawes
New title Wing established	Officer Commanding 2nd Wing 29 November 1914 – August 1915	Succeeded by J M Salmond
Preceded by D le G Pitcher	Commandant of the Central Flying School 1916	Succeeded by A C H MacLean

Persondata
Name	Burke, Charles James
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death	9 April 1917
Place of death	Near Arras, France