Captain Charles Thomas Irvine "Pat" Roark (1895–1939) was an English polo player. He held a ten goal handicap at the peak of his career.

Biography

Early life

He was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 2 May 1895. His father was Thomas Irvine Roark of Wexford. He was commissioned into the Royal Irish Rifles in October 1914, transferred to the Household Cavalry in June 1917 and served in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in 1917 with the Life Guards, after which he transferred to the Indian Army and the 34th P.A.V.O. Poona Horse (later 17th Q.V.O. Cavalry) in May 1918. He retired a Captain in July 1922.

Career

He played for England in the International Polo Cup in 1927 and 1930. He won the

US Open Polo Championship The US Open Polo Championship is an annual polo championship in the United States. It is organized since 1904 by the United States Polo Association (USPA). History The tournament was first played on September 20, 1904 at Van Cortlandt Park in ...

with his team, the Hurricanes. in 1926, 1929 and 1930. He also captained the victorious

Hurricanes (polo) A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

team in the Roehampton Cup in 1928 and 1931.

Personal life

He first married Grace Muriel Campbell (the sister of a brother officer in the Poona Horse, Captain Wentworth Edward Dallas Campbell). They were married in St Paul's Church, Umballa, Punjab, India in 1919 and they had a son (b. 1920). She divorced him in 1929 on the grounds of his adultery. He married again in 1930. Lastly in 1938 he married Patsy Hostetter Smith in California and they had one son. She remarried in 1942 to Walter D. K. Gibson, Jr. He died on 18 February 1939 from injuries incurred in a fall during a practice match at Pasadena, California. He had been due to play a third International Polo Cup for England that year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roark, Charles Thomas Irvine British Life Guards officers English polo players 1895 births 1939 deaths International Polo Cup Polo deaths Roehampton Trophy Royal Ulster Rifles officers British Indian Army officers Indian Army personnel of World War I