839133 Pte. Frank Edward Cope was born in Derbyshire, England, on December 4th, 1878. An eight year veteran of the Imperial Army, Frank eventually emigrated to Canada and was living in Toronto when the thirty-eight year old attested into the 147th Battalion on July 19th, 1916.
Attesting in Owen Sound, Frank joined the Battalion in Camp Borden to take up his military training. In September the unit received their orders to proceed overseas, but due to an outbreak of diphtheria they were detained in Amherst, Nova Scotia, for over a month.
The unit finally sailed for Great Britain on November 14th, 1916, on the S.S. Olympic, a sister ship to the Titanic.
On January 1st, 1917, the 147th Battalion ceased to exist when it became the nucleus for the 8th Reserve Battalion, whose task it was to supply reinforcements to the 58th Battalion and the 4th C.M.R. Some 354 former 147th Battalion men were transferred to the 4th C.M.R. through the course of the war. Frank was taken on strength with his new unit on April 22nd, 1917, in a reinforcement draft after the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Frank saw action at the 'Battle of Hill 70' and was wounded on July 16th, 1917, while the unit was manning the front line trenches near Lens. The nature of his wound is unknown but was probably severe enough to take him out of the fight as he was struck off strength from the 4th C.M.R. on January 29th, 1919.
Biography credit: George Auer