Person    | Male  Born 31/8/1889  Died 10/11/1943

R. K. Burns

War dead, WW2 i

Commemorated on a memorial as having died in WW2.

R. K. Burns

CN Co. C'E Chengtu. Andrew Behan has researched this man: Chief Engineer Officer Robert Kirkwood Burns was born on 31 August 1889 in Greenock, Scotland, the son of Robert and Martha Burns. His father was a Sail Maker. The 1891 census shows him living with his parents and four elder sisters at 18 Sir Michael Street, Greenock. The 1901 census shows that he, together with his parents, one elder and one younger sister, was living at at 13 West Stewart Street, Greenock.

On 28 March 1918 he left London as a passenger aboard the P & O Steam Navigation Ship the S.S. Malta bound for Shanghai, China. His occupation was recorded as a Marine Engineer. He married his wife, Jessie McVicar, and he was employed by the China Navigation Co. Ltd and their address in the UK was 24 Nelson Street, Greenock. In 1941 he was the Chief Engineer Officer of the S.S. Chengtu  a London registered passenger/cargo vessel owned by the China Navigation Co. Ltd that was scuttled on 25 December 1941 in Hong Kong to avoid capture by the Japanese forces. He was also a Private in the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps and was attached to their Hughes Group that was a section made up almost entirely of 'retirees' and acted as an auxiliary unit to their Special Guard Company to protect women and children.

He was made a Prisoner of War and held at the Sham Shui Po internment camp. According to the Merchant Seaman Deaths index cards held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich and the Foreign & Overseas Registers of British Subjects records held at The National Archives, Kew, he died, aged 54 years, on 10 November 1943 as a prisoner of war at the British Military Hospital, Bowen Road, Hong Kong. His certified cause of death was Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Amoebic Dysentery and was buried in Grave 197 at the Bowen Road Cemetery. On 14 February 1946 he was re-interred in Plot 1, Row A, Grave 40 at the Stanley Military Cemetery, Wong Ma Kok Road, Stanley, Hong Kong.

Andrew adds that: Burns' parents headstone claims he died at the Sham Shui Po Camp, but the Merchant Seaman Deaths index cards held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich and the Foreign & Overseas Registers of British Subjects records held at The National Archives at Kew both state that he died as a prisoner of war at the British Military Hospital in Hong Kong, so I have gone with the records rather than the memorial.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
R. K. Burns

Commemorated ati

Swire war memorial - 1

The names are grouped by brief company identifier, which we’ve recognised as ...

Read More

Other Subjects

Arthur Waley

Arthur Waley

Poet, translator and orientalist. He never actually visited China nor Japan.

Person, Poetry, China/Hong Kong, Japan

1 memorial
Sir William Chambers

Sir William Chambers

Architect. Though born in Gothenburg, Sweden where his father was a merchant, he is considered to be Scots. Having visited China he designed the Pagoda and Roman Ruin in Kew Gardens. Somerset Hous...

Person, Architecture, China/Hong Kong, Scotland, Sweden

2 memorials
Elizabeth Croll

Elizabeth Croll

Born New Zealand. Scholar at SOAS specialising in the role of women in China. Vice Principal of SOAS. 2007 awarded CMG.

Person, Education, Gender Issues, China/Hong Kong, New Zealand

1 memorial
Dr. Elsie Yu Chen Chee

Dr. Elsie Yu Chen Chee

Born Shanhai but lived in Singapore for at least 35 years. In 2001 Dr Yu Chen Chee Elsie was the fifth woman in Singapore to be awarded the Singapore Council of Women's Organizations Award.

Person, Education, Sculpture, China/Hong Kong, Singapore

1 memorial
Private Henry Robinson

Private Henry Robinson

Henry Robinson was born on 15 April 1879, one of the thirteen children of Henry Robinson (1846-1923) and Hannah Robinson née Williams (1850-1930). His birth was registered in the 2nd quarter of 187...

Person, Armed Forces, China/Hong Kong

War dead, Other war
1 memorial