Clarence Bowles' Story
Back to The George Gilley Bowles Story
Clarence was only 12 when his father died in
1903. The 1911 census shows Clarence, 20, working as a
machinist. He's living in Midland, Ontario with his mother,
half-sister Bertha and older brother Stanley who is listed as a
Salesman.
Within a few years the three brothers Alf,
Stanley and Clarence would partner in a series of grocery ventures in
Fort William which led to what would become an institution in Fort
William's marine history, The Marine
Grocery.
Clarence left the business with his brothers
when he enlisted in the Canadian Over-seas Expeditionary Force in the
First World War
on June 9, 1916. He served in the 38th Battalion in Britain and in
France and was demobilized in Sussex in 1919. He was transferred
to the 97th Battalion for transport back to Canada and was discharged on
June 2, 1919 at Winnipeg. On his discharge paper he stated that
his intended place of residence was Peace River Crossing (now Peace
River, Alberta). Under Alberta's soldier settlement there was land
available at Peace River for soldiers. While he may have intended
to become a farmer in Alberta he first went home to Fort William where
he stayed and partnered in The Marine Grocery with his brother Alf in
1920.
Clarence' enlistment and discharge papers. Click
on any image for a larger view. On many computers you may have to
click again on the larger view for a full size copy.
He married Rebecca (Reba) Munro in Fort William in 1928 where they raised two daughters Ellen Anne and Lois. His other love was music. He played the euphoneum and the trombone in the Fort William City Band, the Port Arthur City Band and the army band in which he was a sergeant. Clarence experienced a heart attack while at work at the Marine Grocery and passed away in March 1955.
Their Children
Ellen Anne
Photos left to right: Ellen Anne at 15 months, unknown woman in left picture, with father on the right; at about 5; at 16 with father and his Marine Grocery car; at about 20 (the occasion?), with husband Denis Gilmore; the Gilmore family. Lois sorry, I don't have as many photos
