Commander Ernest James Apps, son of Ernest Overy Apps and Mary Swan Wrigley, distinguished himself as a radar specialist with the British Navy in World War II. He graduated from Paris High School in 1935, then earned a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of Toronto. In 1941 he was aboard Battleship HMS Valiant.

Using radar, he detected several ships in the Italian fleet. Using information he provided, the Valiant was able to sink three cruisers and two destroyers. The following year, Sub-Lietenant Apps married Marie Paulette DuMortier, who was born in Alexandria, Egypt. After the war, he received the Order of Merit from the Governor General and a Doctor of Military Science from Royal Military College.

After retiring from the Navy, he bought a farm on West River Road (Concession 3, Sub-Lot 2) in South Dumfries and taught at Mohawk College. He died in 2003 is buried in the Paris Cemetery.