ROPER William Edward
Died 31 July 1917 Age 25
Buried Vlamertinghe New Military Cemetery, Belgium

Photograph of the grave and William Roper

ROPER William Edward
Service Record

Captain King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment 1st/5th Battalion.

Only son of the late William Oliver F.S.A (formerly Town Clerk, Lancaster) and Ada Jane Roper of ‘Beechfield’ Yealand Conyers, Lancashire who was the daughter of Edward Storey of Crosslands, Lancashire (now Cumbria).

William was born at Edenbreck, Lancashire, 14 April 1892. Educated at Seascale and Rugby where he gained a scholarship and Trinity College Oxford and in 1914 passed out with Third Class Honours in Science. He joined the Kings Own Royal Lancashire Regiment in September 1914. He was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant 10 November 1914 and promoted to Lieutenant 17 November 1914 and Captain 23 July 1917. He served with Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from 28 April 1915, in the following September he was appointed Machine Gun Officer to his battalion, when the machine guns were formed into separate companies, he was entrusted by the Brigadier with the task of organising and training the 166th Machine Gun Corps. He was wounded on two occasions, on the 1st occasion a few days after he joined the front in the spring of 1915. The newspaper of 13 May 1915 shows his rank as Lieutenant and that his wounds were slight. The 2nd occasion in August 1916. He was killed in action at Wieltje near Ypres. An officer wrote “His courage was proberbial and the way he exposed himself in order ….
(the newspaper article cuts off at this point).

Parents details

William Oliver died on 18th September 1908 at his home in Yealand Conyers and his wife Ada Jane (Monday March 10th 1930 Lancaster Daily Post) died in one of the leading hotels in Mentone, Nice in France. The article states that a few weeks ago a number of people at the hotel were taken ill, two have died including Mrs Roper formerly of Yealand Conyers. Further press coverage identified that she died of para poisoning.