Former councillor and president of the Leith Ex-Servicemen's Club, Tommy Burke, has died at the age of 84 after a short illness.
Tommy Burke was the youngest of six siblings. The poverty and insecurity that he experienced as a child fuelled a lifelong determination to provide security for his own family.
After the death of both his parents when he was just seven, Mr Burke w
as raised in Leith by his godparents, Charles and Biddy Webster. After leaving school he worked as a shop assistant at Leith Co-Op until the age of 18, when he joined the Army.
Mr Burke served during the Second World War with the Royal Artillery, rising to the rank of sergeant. He was among the troops who liberated the concentration camp at Belsen – a recollection he would share with friends only in the most private moments.
Demobbed in 1947, he returned to Leith, where he soon met the woman who was to become his wife. He and Chrissie were wed at St Mary's Church in Leith on March 26, 1949.
Becoming a father made Mr Burke more eager for financial security. At the time his daughter Sharyn was born, he was working during the day as an RAC patrolman, and at night as a security guard. When son Chris followed in August 1959, Mr Burke decided to stand completely on his own two feet and became self-employed. With a £1000 bank loan he established the chauffeur service, Crown Cars, which he expanded over the years into a highly successful business.
With so many cars at his disposal, Mr Burke never walked anywhere, joking that he had walked from Africa to Germany during the war, which was quite enough walking for one lifetime.
His children remain in Edinburgh, and the family to which Mr Burke was so devoted grew to include grandchildren Raffaello, Renee, Diane, Natalie and Liam, and great-grandchildren Kevin and Pietro.
Despite his business and family commitments, Mr Burke still found time for voluntary service. His greatest contribution was as President of the Leith Ex-Servicemen's Club, a role he held for 32 years. He remained a trustee of the organisation until the time of his death.
Mr Burke was also elected to Edinburgh Council as a Conservative councillor in the early 1980s, serving on the licensing board until poor health forced him to resign.
Close friend Cornelius Waugh was leader of the Conservative group at the time. He recalled a "loyal and supportive" friend and colleague, adding: "He was very good-hearted. He didn't suffer fools gladly and at times you could say he had a short fuse but he didn't carry a grudge. He was a hard worker and you can see that with the work he put into the Ex-Servicemen's Club and so on. He was very generous man with his time and his money."
He died at the Western General Hospital on June 30 after a short illness.
The full article contains 504 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
