Roland Richard Louis Bourke, VC, DSO (1885 – 1958) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Bourke was born in London, England and emigrated to Canada. He returned to the UK on the outbreak of World War I to enlist in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
He was 32 years old, and a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during the First World War when the following deed took place in the Second Ostend Raid for which he was awarded the VC. On 9 and 10 May 1918 at Ostend, Belgium, after HMS Vindictive's crew had been taken off, Lieutenant Bourke, commanding Motor Launch 276, went into the harbour to check that everybody had got away. After searching and finding no one, he withdrew, but hearing cries from the water he turned back, found an officer and two seamen clinging to an up-turned boat, and rescued them. During this time the motor launch was under very heavy fire and was hit 55 times, once by a 6-inch shell which killed two of her crew and did considerable damage. Lieutenant Bourke, however, managed to take her into the open sea, and was taken in tow.
He later achieved the rank of Commander. Grave/memorial at Buried at Royal Oak Burial Park, Falaise Drive, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Section O. Plot 10. Grave 16. Headstone.
Remembering Commander Bourke:
The Canadian Hydrographic Service named Mount Bourke in 1945. It is located southwest of Megin Lake and northeast of Hot Springs Cove, north of Tofino, BC. Specifically, Mount Bourke is located at latitude 49°27'56 and longitude 126°11'02.
HMCS Malahat, Victoria’s Naval Reserve Division, honours B.C. hero Cmdr. Rowland Bourke at his gravesite in Royal Oak Burial Park in Victoria, B.C. with a graveside ceremony each Remembrance Day.