Michael James "Mickey" O'Rourke (March 19, 1878 – December 6, 1957), was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

soldier and dockworker. O'Rourke was a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest, most prestigious decoration for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

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forces.

Early life

There is little documentation of O'Rourke's life prior to World War I. Born in Limerick, Ireland, he served in the

Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company, East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment ...

before emigrating to Canada where he joined the Canadian militia in

Revelstoke, British Columbia Revelstoke () is a city in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, with a census population of 8,275 in 2021. Revelstoke is located east of Vancouver, and west of Calgary, Alberta. The city is situated on the banks of the Columbia River just sout ...

. He also worked as a miner.

World War I

O'Rourke joined the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

in February 1915. He had already been awarded the Military Medal for bravery at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

when, as a member of the 7th (1st British Columbia) Battalion, the following action took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. During the period 15/17 August 1917 at Hill 17 near

Lens, France Lens (; pcd, Linse) is a city in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in northern France. It is one of the main towns of Hauts-de-France along with Lille, Valenciennes, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Arras and Douai. The inhabitants a ...

, Private O'Rourke, who was a stretcher-bearer, worked unceasingly for three days and nights bringing in the wounded, dressing their wounds and getting them food and water. During the whole of this period the area in which he worked was swept by heavy machine-gun and rifle fire and on several occasions he was knocked down and partially buried by enemy shells. His courage and devotion in carrying out his rescue work in spite of exhaustion and incessant heavy fire inspired all ranks and undoubtedly saved many lives.

Later life

After the war, O'Rourke went to California, then returned to British Columbia where he eked out an existence on

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

skid road A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

, surviving on a disability pension of 10 dollars per month and casual work on the docks. During the Vancouver longshoremen's strike of 1935, he headed a protest march of about 1,000 strikers, wearing his medals and carrying the

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

. The marchers attempted to pass a police line guarding the waterfront and were attacked with clubs and tear gas in what came to be known as the

Battle of Ballantyne Pier The Battle of Ballantyne Pier occurred in Ballantyne Pier during a docker's strike in Vancouver, British Columbia, in June 1935. The strike can be traced back to 1912 when the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), began organizing t ...

. O'Rourke's later life was complicated by war-related chronic health problems and alcoholism. He died as an indigent at a Veterans' Affairs facility in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

, BC, on December 6, 1957. His grave is located at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Burnaby.

References

External links

Michael James O'Rourke's digitized service file

Michael James O'Rourke biography

Legion Magazine Article on Michael James O'Rourke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orourke, Michael James 1878 births 1957 deaths Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers Canadian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Irish World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Irish emigrants to Canada Military personnel from County Limerick People from Burnaby Canadian recipients of the Military Medal Royal Munster Fusiliers soldiers Canadian military personnel of World War I

Early life

World War I

Later life

References

Further reading

External links