Edward Innes Pocock

Edward Innes Pocock (3 December 1855 – 14 January 1905) was a Scotland international rugby union player. Playing at three-quarters, Pocock gained two caps for Scotland while representing Edinburgh Wanderers at club level. A soldier by profession, he served in Cecil Rhodes' Pioneer Column. On leaving the army he became a civil servant holding several posts as Mining Commissioner in various districts of Rhodesia.

Early history Pocock was born in Clifton, Bristol in 1855, the son of Rev. Nicholas Pocock and his wife Edith. Pocock's Great-grandfather was marine artist Captain Nicholas Pocock, while his younger brother Reginald Innes Pocock was a notable zoologist. Pocock was educated at Clifton College from 1872 to 1875 and after leaving school he joined the British Army, being posted to Edinburgh.

Provincial career Pocock was selected for Edinburgh District. He played in the Inter-City match of December 1876 against Glasgow District.

He played against East of Scotland District in January 1877. Scoring a try for Edinburgh from a loose maul, it was converted by G. Q. Paterson.

International career In 1877, while playing for Wanderers, Pocock was approached by the Scottish Rugby Union to represent Scotland in the 1877 Test match against Ireland. The Scottish Rugby Union needed to gain permission from the Rugby Football Union to play Pocock due to his nationality. Pocock, never a favourite with the Scottish spectators due to being English, was never selected for Scotland again. From Brighton he was posted to Aldershot and later abroad to India and the West Indies. In 1888 he joined the newly formed Royal Army Service Corps, retaining his rank of honorary captain. Stationed initially in Dublin, he was later posted in Claremont, Cape Town in South Africa. He was appointed Gwelo District Mines Inspector in February 1896,

During an uprising in 1896, Pocock was made captain of the Gwelo District Volunteers, and between September and October 1896 he was placed in command of Fort Gibb. He was stabbed in the arm by a spear during a conflict on 24 October 1896. He took leave in January 1897 returning to England, and was still in the country for his father's death in March. Pocock returned to Rhodesia in August 1897. In 1897 he was made mining commissioner of Lomagundi District, though he resigned from the Civil Service in 1901. Pocock was then hired by United Excelsior Mines, and was placed in charge of the Alliance Mine in the Abercorn District. Mining operations ceased at the mine in 1903, but he remained living at the property.

Throughout his time in Rhodesia, Pocock suffered from bouts of malaria. These became more and more serious until he contracted black water fever. Due to a flooded river, he was prevented from reaching the hospital for three days, and on arrival he was seriously ill. He died at the hospital from pneumonia and was buried at Pioneer Cemetery in Salisbury.