Mike Burke was born May 3, 1939 in Glasgow, Scotland. He grew up there in a large family, dealing with the wartime conditions brought on by the Blitz. Mike left school when he was 15, taking work in a meat market, and he did that until he was 18 and received his call up for National Service. Mike went into the Scots’ Guards, and after extensive training he was sent to Germany, where he became part of the NATO contingent in the tense days of the Cold War. On one occasion Mike was selected by the BBC to go to Scotland for New Year’s, and he was briefly a celebrity! When his service was over though Mike was happy to move on to civilian life, where he went back to his job and married and started his family, and eventually he and his wife made the decision to come to Canada. Mike was interviewed by Scott Masters at Legion Branch 322 in Ajax, Ontario in August 2025
