Description

STRONG, O.B.E., M.C., V.D., K.C., LIEUTENANT-COLONEL ERNEST HENRY, lawyer and judge; b. 26 September 1886 in Crapaud, son of C. Edward Strong and Sarah Davis Ellison; m. first Loretta MacNeill, and there were no children; m. secondly 12 August 1931 Clara Wilkinson of O’Leary, and and they had two children, Edward Wilkinson and Elizabeth Davis; Baptist; d. 7 August 1961 in Summerside.
Strong, a Conservative, was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1943 for 5th Prince. He was defeated in the general elections of 1947, 1951, and 1957 for 4th Prince, and in the general election of 1955 for 2nd Prince. In 1945 Strong resigned to run in that year’s federal election for Prince; he was defeated by 75 votes.
His grandfather, William G. Strong, was a member of the Legislative Council for eight years and served as government leader in the Council for three years. Strong’s brother Heath Edward* was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general elections of 1931 and 1943, and he served as Speaker from 1931 to 1935.
Although he was born in Crapaud, Strong resided for the majority of his life in Summerside. He attended Summerside High School and Prince of Wales College, after which he articled with Judge Albert C. Saunders*. Strong was admitted to the Bar on 25 June 1912. He served as Stipendiary Magistrate in Summerside from 1931 to 1958, and also was appointed as a Deputy judge in Juvenile Court in that community.
A member of the Royal Canadian Legion, Strong enlisted for overseas service in December 1915. He served with the 105th Prince Edward Island Battalion and 26th New Brunswick Battalion in England, France, Belgium, and Germany during the First World War. Strong won the Military Cross and other military honours. Between the First and Second World Wars, he was active in a peacetime unit and in the early 1930s was the commanding officer of the Prince Edward Island Highlanders. In 1939 he retired from the military with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Ernest Strong died 7 August 1961 in Summerside at the Prince County Hospital.
Loretta Strong was born 1 April 1886 and died 21 December 1928. Clara Strong was the daughter of J. C. Wilkinson of O’Leary., CPG 1945, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1957, 1962; HEER 1993 p. Prince 1; Meacham's Atlas'. Journal-Pioneer 7 August 1961; Patriot 7 August 1961; PARO: Summerside People’s Protestant Cemetery Records.