Lest We Forget

Thomas Henry Soper was born in 1896 in Wales, UK, growing up there before moving to Devon, England with his family. He attended school and graduated from the equivalent of grade 8.

In 1914, he had just turned 18, and he enlisted in the Royal Navy, Royal Marine Corp. He served until 1919, seeing action in various locales. He was discharged upon demobilization, left with one deaf ear due to manning heavy artillery.

He met and married Mary Goodall and emigrated to Canada in 1920, living in Stratford, Perth County, Ontario. Together, they had six children, three of whom died in infancy. The three surviving children are Herbert, Thomas Jr., and Donald Soper. Upon arriving in Stratford, Thomas began working with the Grand Trunk Railway as a security guard. In 1923 he went to work with the Stratford Fire Department, which entailed 84 hour week shifts, more than twice of today’s average. In between the two great wars, he volunteered with the Perth Regiment Militia Unit. He rose to the rank of Warrant Officer Class I, or Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM).

In 1939, he was on active service with the Perth Regiment. He served overseas in England until 1943; at age 47 he was considered too old to serve in action. He was returned to Canada where his experience and ability was needed. He was appointed as Camp RSM at Chatham (Ontario) Basic Training Centre. There, he was charged with the overseeing of all training conducted by camp Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs).

Upon discharge, he resumed his service with the City Fire Department. He retired in 1967 with the rank of Captain. He worked part time with the County of Perth as Court Clerk, the Bank of Commerce as a messenger, and as a house painter. He died in 1978 at the age of 82. He was awarded ten service medals in his lifetime.