Walter Samuel Burke (1861 – ?) was a British writer, editor, sport and outdoor enthusiast apart from being a pioneer audio recordist in India. He was a founding editor of the magazine The Indian Field.
Burke was born in London and was educated around Europe and at St. Paul's School. He joined the Bengal Railways in 1877 and left service after a year to join the Royal Indian Marine. He left it after three years to work in a Calcutta business from 1881 although he continued to be a Calcutta Naval Volunteer from 1876. He moved to journalism in 1885 at the Indian Daily News. In 1895 he became a subeditor for the Indian Planters' Gazette and the following year worked as editor for the Asian (an Indian sporting journal). In 1902 he founded a journal of his own, The Indian Field which he edited for many years along with his son Walter Charles Burke. Burke took an interest in outdoor sports including shooting, fishing, rowing and cycling. He founded the Naval Volunteers' Athletic Club in Calcutta where he held a cycling record of 1 hour and 25 minutes for a 25-mile race. He also founded the Bengal Cyclists' Association and was a member of the Calcutta Rowing Club. He founded the Calcutta Pigeon Club, was a referee for boxing matches, known for his cross country running and sprinting. He authored several books including "Athletic Sports and How to Run them", "Naval Volunteers' Drill Book", "The Indian Field Shikar Book", and "Cycling in Bengal". He was also known for his entertaining imitations of Bengali babus and stand up performances several of which were recorded as Gramophone records, some of the oldest ever made in India. These were recitations by W.S. Burke recorded by Fred Gaisberg and George Dillnutt of the Gramophone and Typewriter Company in 1902 in Calcutta titled "Villikens and his Dinah" and "Ram Chandra's Reminiscences".[2]
1924 gramophone advertisement
Burke married Evelina Agnes, daughter of Captain W. Pritchard, Bengal Army and they had three children. He later married Ethel, daughter of Goswin Swanseger, and they had a son. He was a grandfather of Sydney Fairbrother.[3][4]
Referencesedit
^Fraser, John Foster (1907). Round the World on a Wheel (5 ed.). London: Methuen & Co. p. 224.
^Kinnear, Michael (1992). "W.S. Burke - the first disc record artist of India". The Record News. 7: 26–30.
^"London Meeting, 18th June 1992". Hillandale News (187): 81. 1992.
^The Cyclopedia of India. Volume I. }year=1907. Calcutta: The Cyclopedia Publishing Company. pp. 271–272.
External linksedit
Cycling In Bengal (1898)
The Indian field shikar book (1908, 4th edition)
April 11, 2024
burke, walter, samuel, burke, 1861, british, writer, editor, sport, outdoor, enthusiast, apart, from, being, pioneer, audio, recordist, india, founding, editor, magazine, indian, field, life, work, edit, nbsp, 1902, recording, burke, nbsp, john, foster, fraser. Walter Samuel Burke 1861 was a British writer editor sport and outdoor enthusiast apart from being a pioneer audio recordist in India He was a founding editor of the magazine The Indian Field Life and work edit nbsp 1902 recording of Burke nbsp John Foster Fraser met up with Burke in Calcutta 1 Burke was born in London and was educated around Europe and at St Paul s School He joined the Bengal Railways in 1877 and left service after a year to join the Royal Indian Marine He left it after three years to work in a Calcutta business from 1881 although he continued to be a Calcutta Naval Volunteer from 1876 He moved to journalism in 1885 at the Indian Daily News In 1895 he became a subeditor for the Indian Planters Gazette and the following year worked as editor for the Asian an Indian sporting journal In 1902 he founded a journal of his own The Indian Field which he edited for many years along with his son Walter Charles Burke Burke took an interest in outdoor sports including shooting fishing rowing and cycling He founded the Naval Volunteers Athletic Club in Calcutta where he held a cycling record of 1 hour and 25 minutes for a 25 mile race He also founded the Bengal Cyclists Association and was a member of the Calcutta Rowing Club He founded the Calcutta Pigeon Club was a referee for boxing matches known for his cross country running and sprinting He authored several books including Athletic Sports and How to Run them Naval Volunteers Drill Book The Indian Field Shikar Book and Cycling in Bengal He was also known for his entertaining imitations of Bengali babus and stand up performances several of which were recorded as Gramophone records some of the oldest ever made in India These were recitations by W S Burke recorded by Fred Gaisberg and George Dillnutt of the Gramophone and Typewriter Company in 1902 in Calcutta titled Villikens and his Dinah and Ram Chandra s Reminiscences 2 nbsp 1924 gramophone advertisementBurke married Evelina Agnes daughter of Captain W Pritchard Bengal Army and they had three children He later married Ethel daughter of Goswin Swanseger and they had a son He was a grandfather of Sydney Fairbrother 3 4 References edit Fraser John Foster 1907 Round the World on a Wheel 5 ed London Methuen amp Co p 224 Kinnear Michael 1992 W S Burke the first disc record artist of India The Record News 7 26 30 London Meeting 18th June 1992 Hillandale News 187 81 1992 The Cyclopedia of India Volume I year 1907 Calcutta The Cyclopedia Publishing Company pp 271 272 External links editCycling In Bengal 1898 The Indian field shikar book 1908 4th edition Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title W S Burke amp oldid 1153811035, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
