149 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND ELMER, Ernest Ernest was born on May 1, 1888 in Crowthorne, England. He immigrated to Canada in 1905 and enlisted in the Army with the CEF 75th Battalion in Toronto on July 22, 1915. He was serving with the 60th Battalion, 3rd Division when he was killed during an attack near Courcelette, France on September 16, 1916. ERNST, Jack D. Jack was born on March 13, 1921 to Eldon and Emma (Kuehner) in Kitchener, Ontario. He attended school in Kitchener with his brother Frederick. Their parents died when they were young and they were raised by their aunt, Emma Schlote. On May 7, 1941, Jack enlisted with the RCAF. On August 24, 1942, Pilot Officer Jack Ernst was on a training exercise over Lyme Bay, Dorset practicing air sea rescue procedures with 276 Squadron Royal Air Force. The crew of two were to check the dinghies as they dropped. P/O Ernst was also to act as rear gunner during the patrol. Approximately ten minutes into their flight, two Foche Wulf 190 fighters were reported dropping their bombs in the Brixham area. Although warnings were sent, no reply had been received and after multiple searches, it was assumed they were shot down. Both Jack and his brother served on the same squadron. Jack’s brother, Flight Officer Frederick Ernst was fortunate to return from service in England in 1944. Pilot Officer Jack Ernst is memorialized on Panel 100 at the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey, UK. He is gratefully remembered today as a “Son of Waterloo” and his picture hangs on the Memorial Wall in the City Hall of Waterloo, Ontario. ERMEL, Frederick Herbert Frederick was born in Waterloo, Ontario on September 27, 1896, to William and Elizabeth. He had seven siblings. Frederick joined the Army at London, Ontario with the 1st Depot Battalion Western Ontario Regiment on January 8, 1918 and was assigned to the 4th Canadian Reserve Battalion during World War I. On April, 6, 1918, Frederick was shipped from Halifax, Nova Scotia aboard the SS Scotian and arrived in Witley, England where he was attached to the 1st Battalion Reserves and on September 15th they were sent to France and transferred to the 20th Battalion. His unit proceeded to the front lines in Belgium, where he became a stretcherbearer. Upon demobilization, Frederick was posted back to Witley, England and returned to Canada aboard the SS Caronia. Frederick was discharged in Toronto on May 24, 1919. He married Veronica Erb and they had ten children. At some point, his nickname became “Shorty”. He worked at Sehl Engineering and A.R. Kaufman Footwear in Kitchener. He was a member of Waterloo Legion Branch 530 for twelve years. Frederick passed away on December 10, 1967 and is buried in a soldiers’ plot in Woodland Cemetery in Kitchener, Ontario.
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