George Couperthwaite

Private 138552

1st Infantry Brigade 1st Canadian Division

Canadian Expeditionary Force

George enlisted for service in the First World War on July 3th, 1915. He first trained at Niagara Camp, and then at Exhibition Camp in Toronto with his Battalion. He arrived in Liverpool, England upon the S.S. Empress on April 9th, 1916. Overseas, he trained with the 75th Battalion at Bramshott and Aldershot camps.

George transferred to the 3rd Battalion on June 19th, 1916, “somewhere in France”. On September 8th, he sustained a shrapnel wound on his left arm and shoulder during the Battle of the Somme, and spent 14 days in a Boulogne hospital. George’s Captain described him as a true soldier who always served with such loyal devotion.

George’s battalion took part in the capture of Vimy Ridge, and on April 9th, 1917, his 3rd Battalion was on the extreme right of the Canadian Corps in the advance. The battalion took its first objective on time and captured four guns, the first to be taken by Canadians.

The next morning, the battalion was ordered to recommence their attacks on the eastern edges of Farbus Wood. Orders soon came to move out of Wood due to the heavy shelling of the enemy with large numbers of Germans starting to surround them. During this time, George was killed in action. He was 24 years old.

George Couperthwaite is buried at Pas de Calais Cemetery in Vimy, France.

We Will Remember Them