Educator.
Born at Centralia, Ontario on 16 July 1887, son of Henry Essery (1862-1940) and Margaret Ann Abbott (1864-1941), he graduated from the University of Manitoba then began a life-long career in education in 1907, including teaching at Harding School (1914). During the First World War, he served with the Strathcona Horse then transferred to the Intelligence Department.
After his military discharge, he was Principal of Salisbury School (1919-1921) then taught mathematics at Kelvin High School (1921-1937) and was Director of Athletics and Boys’ Sports. He was then Principal of Margaret Scott School (1937-1941), Strathcona School (1941-1952), and Centennial School in West Kildonan (1954-1960).
On 24 August 1920, he married Ethel Maud Beatrice McKerchar (1898-1954) at Strathclair. They had two children: Edwin Roy McKerchar Essery and Ruth Essery (wife of ? Jones). In recognition of his community service, he received a Centennial Medal from the Manitoba Historical Society in 1970.
He died at Winnipeg on 16 December 1973 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.
Attestation papers, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.
Marriage registration [Harry Roy Verne Essery, Ethel Maud Beatrice McKerchar], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 18 December 1973, page 35.
Harold Roy Verne Essery, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 19 September 2025
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