Arthur Harper Qua

Rank: 
Corporal
Regimental number: 
5180
Unit at enlistment: 
1st Divisional Engineers
Force: 
C.E.F.
Volunteered or conscripted: 
Volunteered
Survived the war: 
No
Date of death: 
June 4th, 1916
Cemetery: 
Railway Dugouts Burial Ground - Ypres, Belgium - VI.D.38.
Commemorated at: 
Paris Presbyterian Church, Paris District High School Memorial Plaque
Birth country: 
Canada
Birth county: 
Brant
Birth city: 
Paris, Ontario
Address at enlistment: 
Paris, Ontario
Next of kin address: 
Paris, Ontario
Trade or calling: 
Mechanical Engineer
Religious denominations: 
Presbyterian
Marital status: 
Single
Age at enlistment: 
30

Letters and documents

Circumstances of Casualty: Killed in Action.
Location of Unit at Time of Casualty: South East of Ypres.

BX June 19, 1916

Paris Soldier Falls in Battle – Corporal Arthur Harper Qua Killed in Action 

PARIS, June 10 – Official word that Corporal Arthur Harper Qua had been killed in action was received in Paris this morning. Corp. Harper was killed on June 4. He was one of the first to enlist from Paris and belonged to the 3rd Field Engineers Corps of the 3rd Canadian Division. He was the eldest son of the late Arthur and Mrs. Qua and was born and educated in Paris. Some time before enlistment he graduated from the School of Practical Science in Toronto. He leaves to mourn his loss two sisters Miss Qua of Paris, and Mrs. Richard North, Riverside, California, and one brother, Norman at the front. His mother, who resides in Paris, also survives him.

BC December 16, 1916

Corporal Arthur Harper Qua officially reported among Canadian troops killed in action during the fighting in the early part of June, 1916, enlisted in August, 1914, in the First Field Coy, Canadian Engineers, and went over with the first contingent. At the time of his enlistment Corporal Arthur Qua held the position of chief draughtsman with the Westinghouse Company, Hamilton. He had been at the front in Belgium and France since February, 1915, without suffering any injury until the time of his death, although he had been through a number of severe engagements. He was the oldest son of the late Arthur and Mrs. Qua, of Paris. Another son, Norman, is also at the front. In a letter written since Harper's death, by one of his closest soldier friends, he said:

"Harper was, without any reservation, the best soldier and man I knew. In my year of soldiering I never heard him grouch or grumble once. He was always cheerful and thoughtful of others. Whether on the march, in billet or in the trenches, he carried himself the way I would like a brother of mine to do."