[3] He was 28 years old, and a corporal in the 8th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force[4] during the Battle of Amiens when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 9 August 1918 at Hatchet Woods, near Amiens, France, Corporal Coppins' platoon came unexpectedly under fire of numerous machine-guns.

Corporal Coppins, calling on four men to follow him, leapt forward in the face of intense machine-gun fire and rushed straight for the guns.

[6] Coppins played a minor role in the 1930 film All Quiet on the Western Front, as a German machine gunner.

[7] A record shows his enlistment in World War II at Angel's Camp Calaveras Co., California, aged 50, but it is unknown what role he played.