Brian Rourke – Royal Army Medical Corps

Private Brian Rourke – Royal Army Medical Corps

Brian Rourke was born in 1921, in Swansea, the youngest child of John Rourke and Elsie Forsdike, who had married in 1911 in Swansea.

1921 Census – Rayners Glare, Swansea

1921 Census

By the 1921 Census, the Rourke family were living at 3 Rayners Glare, Swansea. John Rourke, aged 33 and born in Ireland, was recorded as a Commercial Traveller employed by the Swan Confectionery Co., though at the time of the census he was out of work. His wife Elsie, aged 32, managed the home. Their children were Dennis (8) and Brendon (6), both attending school, followed by Nora (2) and baby Brian, then two months old. The census captures a young family navigating the difficult post‑war years while raising four children in central Swansea.

Military Service

During the Second World War, Brian Rourke served as a Private in the Royal Army Medical Corps, one of the army’s essential medical and support formations responsible for casualty evacuation, treatment, and frontline medical assistance.

Brian Rourke
Morriston Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Death in the Three Nights Blitz

Brian Rourke was one of the victims of the Three Nights Blitz, the devastating Luftwaffe attacks on Swansea in February 1941. He died on 20 February 1941, and his body was later found at Teilo Crescent, Mayhill, one of the many residential areas struck during the raids. His death places him among the civilian‑military casualties of Swansea’s darkest wartime hours.

Burial

Brian was buried at Morriston Cemetery, becoming the first military burial recorded there in 1941.