PERSONAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 December 1918, Page 4

PERSONAL.

Mr. Newton King wag. abi > ySslerday after his recent severe ill .Ja. Mr. A E. Ryder, of the I4gh School staff, who has been critically ill with pneumonia, ia amy on the way to recovery. Mr. 0. N. Firth, who has teen in charge of the Westport Coal Company'! local branch for the last 10 years, is r«' linquishing that position. The death occurred at the Manaia Uoj* pital on Friday night of Hilda Wiley, of Auroa, aged 20 years. This is the third death in the same family, a sister iind brother having died previously. All died from pneumonia following influenza. —Witness. „ Tho death took place recently of Mr. !•' 0. DorKJngton, a well-known relieving manager ©f~tfc»' Bank of New Zealand. At the time of his death, Mr. Dorrington was relieving at Tauranga. He was 60 yean of a?e, and was on<- of the oldest employees in the service of ths bank, and was well known in Taranaki. He leaves a widow and a grown-up family of two daughters ana one son. * .. A Hokitika message reports the death of Mrs. Koßerts, widow of the lata Commissioner of Crown Lands for Westland, who died on Sunday, being a vie tim' of tho epidemic. In the early stages she was "a volunteer worker, doing urgent relief work at the hospitals. She was ill for about ten days. She was a most active charitable, worker, and waß much esteemed throughout the community. Vi; .'"Tlie Patea Press records the death 'of Private W. L- Stanford, which took place at an early hour on Monday morning from vmeumonia, following on an attack of influenza. The deceased, was the eldest son, of Mr. and Mrs. K J. Stanford, of Wbenuakura, and was married as recently as five months ago to Miss K, O'Grady, of "Patea, who has also been laid aside for some time with influenza. The late Private Stanford was of particularly fine physique, and was amongst the first to volunteer for active service in the ttreat. War. being severely wounded on two occasions. llcferenee to the sad death of Br. Mary Dowling was made on Sunday iiiglit at St. Mary's Church, Hawera. Tho Rev. C- H. Grant Cowen spoke of the brilliant career of Br. Dowling, who, though she had only been in TiaWera* a few months, had hv her sympathetic nature made many friends- She had worked very hard in the first days of the epidemic, and when she herself was struck down she had not sufficient strength to iecorer. To her mother and brother he extended hU sympathy- Mr. Cow»n also sorrow for all those who had, suffered loss through the epidemicStar.

Mr. J. H.> Sheppard, Vogcltown, Xcw Plymouth, has received an exlraet from the London Gazette relating to the award of the DCM. to his son, Company Kergeant-Jlajor J\ W. H. Sheppard. The decoration was conferred for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. When all his company .officers had become casualties during an attack, Sergeant-Major Sheppard led the company forward and assisted in consolidating the captured position under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire. His coolness and determination were an excellent example to hig men. Sergeaut-Major Sheppard was employed on the staff of the Bank of Australasia before going to camp and leaving New .Zealand wttn the 3rd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade.

There died at the Manaia temporary hospital on .Friday a very old ai.a respected resident in tha n'ersoa of Mrs. Membery, who had resided in Otokeho for the last 20 veers. Mre. Membery come to New Usatand with her parents from Victoria, and spent Tier childhood days at the Otaki Majori Mission Station, where tue-lata BUhop HadOeld wa9 minister to the Maoris, and as thero were very few Europeans near the settlement in those days she gained a good knowledge of the Maori language and a fund of Maori love. Her father, the late Robert Kirk, carried on his trade as a blacksmith and farrier at the settlement, some years later removing to Turakina, and during the troublous times with +h« Natives he served in the Kai Iwi Volunteer Mounted Rifles, for which service he received the New Zealand War Medal The late Mrs. Membery was a very energetic worker for all patriotic purposes, and was untiring in her efforts to help all those she knew to he in need of assistance, and it was as a voluntary worker in an'afflicted home that she contracted the terrible epidemic disease that terminated fatally on Friday. She was fiS rears of sine, is survived bv her husband and a family of two sons and «is daughters, and a large number of grand-children.—-Star,-