1741 Pte Ernest Roper, PPCLI.
Born in Puddlehinton, Dorset in 1858, Ernest was a veteran of the Boer War who re-enlisted into the newly formed PPCLI in August 1914. Sailing from Quebec at the end of September 1914 , he was stationed on Salisbury Plain and at Winchester before setting sail for France on 21 December 1914. Taking up a section of front line in the Dickebusch sector on 6 January 1915, two of Ernest's comrades (L/Cpls Fry and Bellinger) became the first Canadians to be killed in action just two days later - both victims of German artillery (the first Canadian officer to die in action - Captain Newton - dying of wounds the following day). Ernest became the third Canadian to be killed in action on 9 January 1915 (also by shellfire) on a day where the War Diary mentions ‘nothing of note'. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial.
9 January 1915
Research by David O'Mara, Croonaert Research Services.
