Lowry, G.E.

Commemorated:

Bangor and District War Memorial

BIOGRAPHY

The names G.E. Lowry and G.V. Lowry are both inscribed on Bangor and District War Memorial.  Desk studies and public appeals to date have produced no information about G.E. Lowry and it may be that G.E. Lowry and G.V. Lowry are one and the same person.

The Second World War Memorial Plaque on Bangor and District War Memorial was not unveiled until November 1967 and this accounts for some of the omissions and inaccuracies in the list of inscribed names.

A notice was published in the 1 November 1963 edition of the County Down Spectator under the heading We Will Remember Them Roll of Honour 1935-45 War (there was a typographical error in the war years – 1935 instead of 1939):

‘The British Legion Women’s Section, Bangor Branch, with the co-operation of the Men’s Branch, schools, and churches, has compiled the undernoted list of Bangor people who died in the service of their country during World War II.  The object of publishing the names is to ensure that they are accurate and complete before being inscribed on the War Memorial.  Relatives or friends who know of any omissions or inaccuracies in the list are asked to get in touch with Councillor J. Halley JP at the British Legion Hall or to supply the necessary information to the Spectator’.  A list of 91 names was published.

A revised list of 113 names was published in the 24 December 1963 edition of the County Down Spectator and friends and relatives were invited to take this final opportunity to make further corrections.

Then, in the 17 November 1967 edition of the County Down Spectator it was reported that a plaque bearing 117 names had been unveiled on the War Memorial.  The report indicated that Remembrance Sunday in 1967 was unique because a Roman Catholic Priest took part alongside Protestant Clergy for the first time.  The plaque was unveiled by Councillor Bertie McConnell who had been blinded whilst on active service in the Second World War and the plaque was dedicated by the Rev W.J. McKinstry Wallace.

At the time of writing it has not been possible to determine whether G.E. Lowry was a casualty of war, or if the name G.E. Lowry was inscribed on the plaque in error.