Military: Vincent Lowe - World War II

Vincent Lowe was born in 1921 in Halifax, Yorkshire England to James Alfred Dawson Lowe and Isabella Rochester Pickles. When Vincent was around 5 years old, the family moved to Canada and became settlers in the Peace River region of British Columbia.

In the mid-1930s, Vincent moved with his parents and brothers to the city of Vancouver. Vincent's father and both his grandfathers had served in the British army. Shortly after moving to Vancouver, Vincent's father joined the Duke of Connaught's Own British Columbia Regiment (DCOR). Vincent and his two brothers (one older and one younger), all teenagers at the time, also joined the regiment but as what we might call cadets today but what was all called militia then. He signed up on 4 March 1937 when he was just 15 years old and trained and participated in events on weekends and during the summer. All three of the Lowe brothers joined the regimental band.

The three Lowe brothers in their regimental band uniforms (circa 1936?)

Vincent's Attestation to the DCOR Militia in 1937. Click on image to enlarge.

James Alfred Lowe, Harry Lowe, Vincent Lowe, James Edward Lowe
(probably taken between 1936 and 1939)

In 1939, before the outbreak of the Second World War, Vincent's older brother, James Edward, volunteered to serve in the navy. When war broke out, Vincent's father volunteered for full service in the DCOR. Within a year, Vincent, following in his father's footsteps, also volunteered for full service in the DCOR. He signed up on 16 July 1940. He was just 18 years old but had already served for three years in the militia.

Vincent's Active Service Assignment from 1939. Click on image to enlarge.

The British Columbia Regiment had been called out for active service at 4:15 a.m. on August 26, 1939, two weeks prior to the official declaration of war by the Canadian governor general. But Vincent did not turn 18 until 8 October 1939 and probably was still attending school until the spring of 1940. He may have only been finished his schooling for a few weeks before he enlisted in July 1940.

Vincent began training in New Westminster right after he signed up for active service, but within months he was in trouble. On 23 September 1940 he was punished for "breaking out of camp."

Before Christmas that same year, Vince's unit was moved to Nanaimo, BC to continue training. In May of 1941, he was again moved, this time to the Niagara area of Ontario. Then in November 1941, he was moved to Debert, Nova Scotia.

In 1942, Vincent qualified as a driver-operator. Finally, in September of that year, he and his regiment set out for the UK. The trip across the Atlantic was a perilous one. Between March and September of that year, German U-boats sank almost 100 ships a month in the Atlantic ocean.

Vincent's ship arrived in the United Kingdom safely, but they did not see action right away. The allies were short of armoured units, and the DCOR, which had been a rifle regiment, was reassigned as part of the 28th Canadian Armoured Regiment and began new training. His records indicate, however, that he continued as a driver, probably of trucks rather than tanks (those drivers were called 'operators').

Vincent and his siblings had all been musicians since they were young, and Vincent had played in the band in the militia. He continued this from location to location and records show this.

While he was undergoing training in the UK, Vincent met a young English woman from Brighton and they married in the spring of 1944.

In the weeks before D-Day, Vincent's unit received orders that they would be embarking for Europe. Each soldier had to sign that he understood the order.

Click on image to enlarge.

Finally on 22 July 1944, a few weeks after D-Day, Vincent and his unit embarked for France. There are, of course, no details on his service record of what happened after that and, as far as I know, Vincent spoke little of his war service. We can only imagine how difficult it was for an armoured regiment travelling across Europe in 1944 and 1945.

The regimental war diaries provide some information on what happened to his unit. The links on the following web page give access to scans of the war diaries for the 28th Armoured Regiment (British Columbia Regiment). These are available online at: http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_mikan_133700. These are, however, not indexed, and it can take time to find the correct file for a specific regiment and/or time period.

I am working my way through the war diaries slowly and gradually creating an image in my mind of what happened to the regiment and thus to Vincent. Occasionally the war diary scans include a document showing assignments that include names and ranks. Although Vincent was serving in a tank regiment and he is listed as a driver, as noted earlier, it would appear that he was not driving a tank. Tank drivers were referred to as 'tank operators.' Before embarking for France, he was shown to be part of B Squadron. But a document dated 5 September 1944 noted that Vincent was assigned to HQ Squadron. Usually an HQ squadron was comprised of administrative and support, but in this case, one document shows that HQ squadron had tanks. It was likely that Vincent was driving a truck that was used to transport supplies for the regiment. Trucks carried food, medical supplies, ammunition and other necessary equipment for the daily functioning of the regiment. Sometimes called an 'echelon' unit, the personal responsible typically worked behind the main battle squadron, which in this case consisted of the tanks.

Vincent and his regiment, which was part of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, landed in France on the 28th of July. As part of the Worthington Force, the 28 Armoured Regiment (British Columbia Regiment) began to see combat on or about August 9 as part of Operation Totalize. The division's commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Worthington, was killed during the battle, one of 133 casualties. In addition to the loss of men, the division lost 48 out of 52 tanks. But only a week later, they were in battle again in Operation Tractable where they contributed to the closing of the Falaise Pocket and the destruction of the German Seventh Army, a turning point in the war in France. As part of the First Canadian Army, the regiment pursued the retreating Germans into Belgium. The First Canadian Army continued on into Holland, as the allies captured ports, which were critical to the war effort.

Important stops along the way included the Battle of the Scheldt, Operation Pheasant, Operation Veritable, the liberation of The Netherlands, and the breaking of the Siegfried Line. Eventually, Vincent and his regiment crossed the Rhine into Germany in April 1945.

Regardless of whether Vincent served on the front lines or if he was support for the front-line troops, he would have seen the devastating results of battles as they happened. And as his regiment moved through war-torn Europe, they all would have witnessed the horrors of war.

In total Vincent Lowe served for 62 months; 35 of those were overseas, which included: 23 ½ months in the UK and 11 ½ months in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany.

Knowing that his regiment moved through Belgium and Holland, I can imagine that he was one of the Canadians welcomed with cheers and tears by the residents of those countries during their liberation — events still remembered and celebrated today.