First World War Canadian Victory Medal – Corporal John Cowey, Canadian Army Medical Corps
Victory Medal – 400094 CPL. J. COWEY. C.A.M.C.
John Cowey was born on 17th November 1888 at Sunderland, County Durham, the son of Robert Cowey (1854–1910) and Isabella Cowey (née Edwards) (1856–1912). He spent his early life in Sunderland and appears in the 1891 Census living at 45 Hood Street, Monkwearmouth with his family.
At some point prior to the First World War he emigrated to Canada, eventually settling at Calgary, Alberta.
With the expansion of the Canadian forces during the war he enlisted for service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 16th June 1915, joining the Canadian Army Medical Corps. He was posted to “C” Section, No. 1 Field Ambulance Depot, C.A.M.C., a unit responsible for receiving and processing wounded soldiers evacuated from the front before further transfer to casualty clearing stations and hospitals.
During his service he later became attached to the C.A.M.C. Gas Company, a specialised unit formed to assist in the treatment and management of casualties from poison gas attacks, which had become a major feature of warfare on the Western Front.
Cowey rose to the rank of Corporal, though his wartime service was affected by a number of medical issues and illnesses, details of which are recorded extensively in his large surviving service file. Such ailments were common among medical personnel who worked under difficult conditions close behind the front lines.
Following the end of the war he returned to Canada in 1919, resuming civilian life in Calgary, Alberta.
Cowey lived in Canada for the remainder of his life and died at Calgary on 18th November 1956, aged 68 years. Despite his death occurring many years after the war, he is buried in Calgary with a military-style grave marker, recording his service number, rank and service with the Canadian Army Medical Corps.
Photographs of Cowey from later in life survive and are held within Ancestry family records, providing a rare visual connection to a soldier who served with the Canadian medical services during the First World War.
A good example of a Canadian Army Medical Corps soldier who served throughout the war in medical and gas casualty units supporting front-line troops on the Western Front.
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