William Lowe was born in Bootle, Lancashire, England (now Merseyside) on 30th November 1914 just after the First World War started. His mother Jane Lowe nee Hawkins died not long after his fourth birthday in 1919 in the third wave of the Flu Epidemic and his father Thomas Lowe, a former Canal Boatman turned Tin Smelter, died in an industrial accident just before his seventeenth birthday.

He and his brothers and two of his sisters were brought up by their step-mother Ethel Lowe nee Kay.

Note that in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Entry for William Lowe, it stated his father was Thomas Lowe and his mother was May Lowe. This is incorrect. May Lowe was his eldest sister and was only 6 when he was born - see her birth certificate below. His biological mother was Jane Lowe nee Hawkins and when she died, his step-mother was Ethel Lowe nee Kay.

Since both his father and biological mother died before he did, the inscription on his gravestone was most likely written by his widow.

His brothers were all older than him. Their names in order of age were Thomas, Omar, and Henry (Harry).

There were two sisters besides May and Evelyn, those were Marie who died as a baby just before he was two years old and Catherine (Kitty), who left her father's home when his biological mother Jane died when he was just over 4. Kitty lived in the home of his grandparents Omar and Emma Lowe and was brought up by them.

In 1940, William Lowe married Annie Chadwick in Bootle, he joined the Army not long after that and they moved South to near the army training camps so William and Annie could still stay together. Annie gave birth to their son George William Lowe whose birth was registered in Cheltenham in 1941.

But married life was to be short-lived. His sister Evelyn wrote in letters to her son in the 1980s the following about her brother Bill:

"War was declared in November 1939 on a Sunday. Your Uncle Bill, my brother .. was 21 years old on the following Tuesday after war was declared. On the Monday before his birthday, he was called up in the army .. He was married to a girl called Ann. He was sent down south to do his training, Ann was sent with him. .. She lived in an army camp with Bill. .. Ann gave birth to a little son who they called George. When he was ten months old, his dad was sent abroad, so she [Ann] moved back to Bootle and lived in Worcester Road."

Evelyn continued,

"Before my brother Bill went abroad, he left a letter for his son to be opened when his son was able to understand. To tell him the reason he had to leave his mother and him. That he did not want to leave them, but he had to go away to fight so his mother and him would be safe, he was fighting for his country, to keep the British Isles safe from invasion, thereby protecting the people of the country from the enemy. He implored him to care for his mother, lead a good and useful life, to be a credit to his mother and country."

Like his little sister Evelyn's husband Edward Hose, and his older brother Omar Lowe, he was sent to North Africa separating him from his wife and son. In the case of Edward (Ted) and himself, they were sent to Algeria as part of Operation Torch and worked as drivers for the Royal Army Service Corps ferrying supplies to front line troops from Algeria to Tunisia. In William's case as part of the 56 Water Tank Company.

His brother Omar Lowe on the other hand, was part of the Eight Army and was sent to Egypt.

Edward Hose sent accounts of meeting Bill Lowe in North Africa back to his wife, Bill's little sister. Evelyn, but communication was censored during the war and communication amounted to a few lines on the back of a picture postcard and sometimes some words were struck through. What Edward later communicated was the danger there.

The troop ship carrying Edward to Algeria was torpedoed and later sank in the Mediterranean. Edward managed to escape from the sinking ship and after a time in a lifeboat, was rescued and taken on shore in Algeria to the transport unit of the British Army he was in.

I don't know if Bill Lowe was on the same troop ship, but ships were regularly targeted in the Mediterranean Sea at that time. What is clear from Edward's accounts is that the job both Bill and Ted did of ferrying supplies to and from the front lines was very dangerous.

After the war, Edward told of how when he was driving in North Africa in convoy, the truck in front of him was targetted by enemy aircraft and blown up - I can't remember, but I think he said the driver and "second-man" were killed.

While the men were in danger in North Africa, their families back in Bootle were also in danger from the German bombing. William's sister Evelyn still lived with their step-mother in the house where they were born - 254 Strand Road, Bootle. Strand Road was one of the most bombed streets in England during World War Two and was mostly flattened because it led from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal down to the Bootle Docks which was also very heavily bombed.

In fact, they lived around the corner from the Co-op Bomb Shelter in Bootle that was destroyed killing hundreds of people. 254 Strand Road was bombed one night in May 1941 and William's step-mother had to be evacuated to Burnley where she was from.

It is clear from the despatch submitted to the British Secretary of State for War on 7th June, 1943, by Lieutenant General K.A.N. Anderson, C.B., M.C., General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, First Army that mainly British and US Army Forces took part in the fighting through Algeria and Tunisia, but with the assistance of some allied French Forces, including native Arab Algerians plus Moroccan tribal Goums and they all travelled East from Morocco or Algeria to Tunisia fighting Axis forces on the way (Grehan, John & Mace, Martin, 2015)

Anderson said in 1943 that "for several months First Army had to coordinate, and in most cases provide, the entire movement and supply organisation and most of the signal communications for all three nationalities" and that "the Army was entirely dependent on what it brought overseas with it, in the way of transport, fuel, supplies, &c. Nothing whatever was available locally; indeed, we had to supply the railway with coal, and our Allies, out of our none too plentiful stocks, with rations, petrol and other supplies."

This had implications for William Lowe and Edward Hose who were both in the Royal Army Service Corps and supplying those troops. As did this: in "the wet season ... the extent of the rains in the Coastal belt and their effect on the roads, on cross-country movement, and on the airfields, came as a very unpleasant surprise" (Anderson, 1943).

After fighting their way through Algeria, the various Allied forces were positioned at various points around Tunisia to prepare for their fight towards Tunis. There were attacks and counter-attacks in a wide area of Tunisia over various terrains and in various weathers.

"Enemy resistance was still formidable and he held strong positions. These had to be overcome and his strength exhausted before a real break through could be effected." (Anderson, 1943).

Besides the Allied forces approaching Tunis from the West, the British Eighth Army, including William Lowe's brother Omar, were approaching from the East after defeating Rommel's forces at El Alamein.

In fact, 1 British Armoured Division from Eighth Army was placed under the command of Anderson (Anderson, 1943).

Anderson chose to attack via Medjez El-Bab and there was very fierce fighting - the "fiercest fighting of all took place on 29th April" (Anderson, 1943). Eighth Army transferred formations across "to strengthen First Army for the final blow". "On 7th May, at 1540 hours, the Derbyshire Yeomanry and 11 Hussars entered Tunis." "The final attack of 6 Armoured Division was made southwards from Bou Ficha covered by heavy artillery fire and an air bombardment by Western Desert Air Force on 12th May, while 56 Division, of Eighth Army shelled the trapped enemy from the south."

"After the bombardment a sea of white flags marked the end of all organised resistance. .. The rout of the German army was complete; prisoners swamped their captors and drove in their own transport looking for the cages. Thousands surrendered without attempting to resist further, while others fired their remaining stocks of ammunition at any target before giving themselves up..."

"On 12th May Colonel-General J. von Arnim, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Army Group Afrika, surrendered with his staff to 4 Indian Division and was brought to me at Headquarters First Army. The total of prisoners eventually reached over a quarter of a million" (Anderson, 1943).

Anderson referred to the "final destruction of the Axis forces in Africa on 13th May, 1943". Anderson (1943) paid special tribute to Royal Army Service Corps drivers like William Lowe and Edward Hose: "I must pay tribute to all ranks of the Royal Army Service Corps and the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, who, despite every difficulty of climate, terrain and enemy action, understaffed and overworked, nevertheless never failed to deliver the goods".

A Victory Parade of Allied troops took place on 20th May 1943 and Edward Hose mentioned seeing his brother-in-law Bill Lowe there in a postcard to his wife Evelyn. Apparently, they were all in good spirits despite the loss of many of their comrades.

There is some mystery over the death of William Lowe on the 13th June 1943.

Edward Hose reported to his wife that Bill had died diving in the Mediterranean Sea. Apparently, he never resurfaced from his dive. Perhaps, he fell victim to some unexploded ordnance - no-one knows.

William Lowe was buried in a grave in the Medjez-El-Bab Second World War Cemetery in Tunisia (Cemetery Memorial Reference: 3.H.15). His death and burial are Commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Anderson, K.A.N., Lieutenant General, C.B., M.C.General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, First Army (7th June, 1943) "Despatch submitted to the British Secretary of State for War", War Office, as in Grehan, John & Mace, Martin (2015).

Hose nee Lowe, Evelyn (1980 to 1985) "Letters to her son".

Grehan, John & Mace, Martin (2015) "Operations in North Africa and the Middle East 1942-1944 - El Alamein, Tunisia, Algeria and Operation Torch", Pen & Sword.

Photograph of Strand Road Bomb Damage during the WW2 Blitz on Bootle on 4th September 1940 © Copyright Sefton Libraries 2014-2020, all rights reserved (https://sefton-digital-archive.org/archive/townships/bootle/202275-strand-road-bomb-damage-blitz)