Thomas Bower-Binns enlisted in 1915 and served in France and Belgium with the 51st Howitzer Battery, 13th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery. He fought at Passchendaele. In 1918 he was gassed, and suffered from its effects the rest of his life. In a letter home, he mentioned the joyous celebrations that accompanied the end of the war: “Nov. 11. 1918 Armstice [sic] Day. Wild times. Got good and drunk etc etc Belgium.” Bower-Binns lived in Aylmer, Quebec following the war and worked at the Department of Health and Welfare in nearby Ottawa. He died in 1974 at the age of 82.

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