Son of Thomas and Grace Simpson of Ridgetown, ON. Prior to his enlistment he was a member of the Royal Bank Staff in Wheatley. The WJ 18/09/41 reported that he had been a commission as a Pilot Officer.   

“Pilot Officer Reported Dead” was the headline in the CDN 28/03/42. That days ‘Casualty List’ contained the name of Pilot Officer Ernest Little Simpson among those reported dead. He was reported as being Lost at Sea. 

Age: 21, LAS –  Date of Death: 15/10/1941. One of four airmen lost when the M.V. Vancouver Island sank.

The Civilian Technical Corps was to experience the full tragedy of war when,on 15th October 1941, 19 members were lost on the SSVancouverIsland which was torpedoed by U-558 in mid-Atlantic. All of the 65 crew, 8 Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship (DEMS) gunners and 32 passengers lost their lives. Ironically, the Vancouver Island was originally the German merchantman Weser, which formerly acted as a supply ship for the surface raider, Orion. Captured by the Royal Canadian Navy on 25th September 1940, the Weser was re-registered as the Vancouver Island.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Sources	Cenotaph – Ridgetown, ON. They Shall Grow Not Old (he was reported from Ridgetown)., RC, WC, RHS-R, BR, 243-HR, CVWM
Supplemental Information	Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead, Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 1. Column 2. Memorial: OTTAWA MEMORIAL.

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