Duncan Cenotaph

As part of our project to document the names on the Duncan Cenotaph in Charles Hoey Park, here is a page about Private Ernest Robert Bailey, who was killed in action on 10 November 1917, aged 27, while serving with the 88th Bn., C.E.F. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium.

Here is the local Cowichan Leader newspaper report of the death of Private Ernest Robert Bailey:

“Pte. E.R. Bailey

Pte. Ernest Robert Bailey is reported killed in action on Dec. 6th last [note: this must be a misprint. He died on 10 November 1917].  Born in Norwich, England, where his relatives still live, he had lived in Duncan and the district some nine years prior to his enlistment in Victoria in December 1915, with the 88th Bn., C.E.F. He was unmarried and a teamster by calling. He had served in France for nearly 15 months when called on to make the great sacrifice.”

(Source: Cowichan Leader, 20 November 1917, from Cowichan Valley Museum & Archives files)

Here are links to some sites with additional information about Ernest Robert Bailey:

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