Edward Dennis O'RORKE [31634]

  General Notes:

Edward was a member of the Pakuranga Hunt Auckland NZ

DEATH OF Mr. E. D O'RORKE

ROLLED ON BY A HORSE,
DETAILS OF THE ACCIDENT.
Particulars of the death of Mr. Edward Denis O'Rorke, son of the late Sir Maurice O'Rorke, and a very popular figure in Auckland sporting and hunting circles; prior to his departure for England, came to hand by yesterday's mail.
The accident, which resulted in his death on December 8 last, occurred at Melton Mowbray. Mr. O'Rorke had served throughout the war as superintendent remount depots in Great Britain, and had done very valuable service. On December 2 he was at Melton Mowbray in his official capacity, and rode a number of horses.
A private letter gives the following particulars of the accident: It was at the remount depot at Melton Mowbray that it occurred and exactly a week later he had to undergo an operation and did not recover consciousness after it. He was trying a mare over a small jump which she refused the first time and slipped the second on landing or crossed her feet. She came down and rolled on her rider, who had no chance of being thrown clear. Major Wood, the officer in charge of the depot, had him taken to his own house and everything that he and Mrs. Wood could do was done.
Parkinson (Sir Thomas Parkinson) send up two nurses and two local doctors and a specialist from Leisster were in attendance. It appears that on Monday afternoon Denis felt worse and the doctor said an operation necessary. He called the specialist from Leisster, but the operation showed them at once that nothing could be done. A muscle in the middle of the spine had been torn and there had been hemorrhage from the first and no operation could have saved him. He was buried at a little place called Syston, close to the depot.
The bearers were non-coms. from the depot and the War Office was represented by General J Hirbeck. head of the remount depot.
Mr. O'Rorke was 53 years of age. He had four sons and one daughter. Two sons were at Oxford before the war, and both obtained commissions in the Imperial Army. One of them, the late Major D Clifford O'Rorke, was nominated for Sandhurst in October, 1914, and gazetted to the King's Royal Rifles. He served with distinction through the campaign in France, being several times wounded and gassed. He was mentioned in despatches early in 1916, and in June, 1917, was awarded the Military Cross. He was killed in action in March of this year, aged 22. The other, Lieutenant Maurice H O'Rorke, of the 12th Lancers, has been three times wounded, and is at preset suffering from very severe injures to his head. The other two boys are at school. Mrs O'Rorke is a sister of Colonel the Hon. R. Heaton Rhodes. Among others present at the funeral were Colonel R Heaton Rhodes and members of the family.
NEW ZEALAND HERALD, VOLUME LVI, ISSUE 17085, 14 FEBRUARY 1919, PAGE 6

  Research Notes:

Images Courtesy Julia Rhodes 1 website Ancestry - 2019

Edward married Amy Clifford RHODES [31633] [MRIN: 11227], daughter of Robert Heaton RHODES [31606] and Sophia Circuit LATTER [31621], in 1893 in NZ. (Amy Clifford RHODES [31633] was born on 27 Feb 1865 in Purau Lyttleton Canterbury NZ and died on 27 Aug 1922 in Christchurch.)