Copp, Ernest Charles

• Copp, Ernie

Ernest Charles Copp joined the Canadian Army ca. 1949. He trained at Camp Borden, Ontario. He joined Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) and trained to be a paratrooper at Camp Shilo, Manitoba. At the outset of the Korean War, the original battalion of PPCLI was designated the 1st Battalion. It rotated into the war zone from November 1951 to October 1952, relieving the 2nd Battalion and preceding the 3rd Battalion. Pte Copp was in a platoon of Pioneers, a trade which specialized in building engineering works and dismantling ordnance. By tradition, they were the only Infantry soldiers permitted to grow beards. After the war, Ernie Copp was a member of the Vancouver Island Branch of the PPCLI Association and the Korea Veterans Association of Canada. He was living in Langford, BC as of 2009.