KUPFER, Ernest

KUPFER, Ernest – A Southern Downs Veteran

CONFLICT : WWI
SERVICE NO : 2591
RANK : Private
UNIT : 42nd Battalion
ENLISTMENT DATE : 7/03/1916
AGE : 21
PLACE OF ENLISTMENT : Warwick, Queensland
PLACE OF BIRTH : Roma, Queensland
RELIGION : Church of England
OCCUPATION : Lengthsman
DATE OF DEATH : 4/10/1917
PLACE OF BURIAL : Ypres, Belgium

MEMORIALS : Yelarbon War Memorial, Yelarbon Roll of Honour, Roma Cenotaph, Town of Roma and Shire of Bungil WWI Honour Board, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Brisbane 42nd Infantry Battalion AIF Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial

View Veteran’s Service File : KUPFER, Ernest

NOTES : KUPFER, Ernest – By Duncan McLean

One of the youngest Yelarbon soldiers who never returned from ‘The Great War’ was Ernest Kupfer, who was just 21 when he was killed in action near Ypres (now known as Ieper) in Belgium on Thursday, the 4th of October 1917. Like fellow Yelarbon soldier Leslie Nuttall 4182, Ernest’s body was never found, and he is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ieper.

Ernest was born in Roma on the 11th of November, 1895, the third eldest child of Sarah and Ernest Kupfer. He had eight brothers and three sisters. He went to school at Yingerbay, which was on the Roma to Injune railway line, north of Roma. His civilian occupation was a railway lengthsman, responsible for keeping a “length” of railway neat, tidy and passable, with particular emphasis on boundary marking. He was also trained in farming and general bush work. He was 5 foot 9 ½ inches tall and weighed 156 ½ lbs. (approximately 71kg), with light brown hair and blue eyes. It is highly likely Ernest was living and working in Yelarbon when he joined up in 1916.

Ernest enlisted at Warwick on the 7th of March, 1916, and was assigned to the 5th reinforcements of the 42nd Battalion on the 27th of October. He embarked from Brisbane on the HMAT A55 Kyarra on the 17th of November, arriving in Plymouth on the 30th of January 1917. During his training in England, he was admitted to Fargo Military Hospital with influenza on the 9th of March. Ernest arrived in France on the 19th of June, and joined his unit on the 10th of July.

Ernest served with the 42nd Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force, which was raised at Enoggera near Brisbane, in December 1915. During 1917 the Battalion took part in many significant battles, which were part of the campaign known as the Third Battle of Ypres. They included the battle at Messines in June, Warneton in late July, and both Broodseinde and Passchendaele in early to mid-October.

It is almost certain Ernest was killed at Broodseinde on the 4th of October one of 6,423 Australian casualties of that battle. Ernest’s war pension of £2 per fortnight was granted to his mother, Mrs Sarah Kupfer.

It is interesting to note sources state Ernest had eight cousins who also served in the First World War – all of whom returned safely. Unfortunately, at this time this cannot be confirmed.

Copyright 2026 Deborah C Wheeler and Duncan McLean, Southern Downs Military History

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