436757 Private George Anthony Rafter

George Anthony "Jack" Rafter was born in Ireland and had just qualified as a schoolteacher in Edmonton when war broke out. He soon enlisted and by October of 1915 had arrived in Flanders serving with the 49th Battalion (E.R.). During the battalion's first trench rotation at Ploegsteert, Rafter was wounded by a German sniper but recovered and returned to duty within a few weeks. On the night of June 2-3, 1916, while traversing open ground north of Zillebeke to launch the Sanctuary Wood counter-attack, Rafter was killed by shell fire. With no known grave, he is commemorated on the Menin Gate.