Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthDecember 15, 1881
Place of BirthLiverpool
CountryEngland
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinMrs. J. Boswell, Box 282, Keewatin, Ontario
Trade / CallingLabourer
ReligionChurch of England
Service Details
Regimental Number439367
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion52nd Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentKenora, Ontario
Date of EnlistmentJune 1, 1915
Age at Enlistment33
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathFebruary 9, 1966
Age at Death84
Buried AtPineview Memorial Gardens, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Lowe, Thomas (1881-1966)

Born in Liverpool, England, Thomas Lowe was living in Keewatin when the war broke out.

On his attestation papers Lowe noted service the 4th Liverpool Regiment before coming to Canada in 1910. In 1911 he was living with his sister, Maggie Boswell and her family and working at the Lake of the Woods Milling Company.

Along with his brother-in-law John Boswell, Lowe was among the first group of Kenora volunteers to go the Valcartier in August 1914. However he was among those rejected for service and returned home to Keewatin. In June 1915, Lowe enlisted again, answering a call for volunteers for the regional 52nd Battalion. After training in Kenora and Port Arthur he shipped overseas with the battalion to England in December 1915.

Transferred briefly to a trench mortar unit, he returned to the 52nd and landed in France with them in February of 1916.

In July of that year he suffered a gun shot wound and was hospitalized for two weeks for treatment of his wound and shell shock.

He returned to the 52nd Battalion and was with them until August of 1917 when he was assigned to the army’s work company system due to worsening eyesight. His medical file notes he suffered from myopia (nearsightedness).

Classed as B1 due to his eyesight, Lowe remained with various army work detail units for the balance of the war in both France and England.

He returned to Canada in 1919 and was discharged in March 1919. His intended residence was Port Arthur (Thunder Bay).

Before his discharge the army finally provided him with a pair of glasses.

At some point Thomas moved to Winnipeg. He passed away there on 09 February 1966 and is interred in Pineview Memorial Gardens. Thomas was survived by two nieces: Maggie Lumsden of Dugald, Manitoba and Eleanor White, who lived in England.

 


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