Calgary Daily Herald 12/05/1916

Jean Longstaff has submitted the following:-

William Snowdon was an Inspector of Nuisances (nineteenth century name for an Environmental Health Inspector) who married Alice Winn in St. John the Baptist Church, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1877 and she gave birth to the first of their five children the following year. Thomas Herdman was born on 28th December 1886 and by 1891 the family were living at West End, Sedgefield. By 1901 they had moved to a larger house on Front Street and had a live-in servant and a groom.

Thomas’ father died in 1903 and four years later the 23rd March saw Thomas on board the SS Victorian sailing from Liverpool to Halifax, Nova Scotia and an onward journey to Edmonton, Alberta to start a new life as an architect. By 1913 he was living and working in Vancouver and on 12th June married Gladys Celia Marie Winter in the First Presbyterian Church. Two years later just after the birth of their daughter Edith, Thomas enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in New Westminster, British Columbia.

Standing just under six feet tall and with his initials tattooed on his arm Thomas named Gladys as his next of kin (and guardian of their child), mentioned his time in the Duke of Connaught’s Own militia and became Private 429155 in the 47th Battalion arriving in England in October to be based at Bramshott, Hampshire, from where he went AWOL for three days just two weeks later. Transferred to the 30th Reserve Battalion based at Shorncliffe, Kent, in February 1916 he was posted to the 5th Battalion in Belgium as a machine gunner joining them in Brigade Reserve at Courte Dreve on 16th February, just after a shell had landed in the courtyard killing a team of mules and wrecking the officers’ mess.

Just eight weeks later Private 429155 was dead, killed in action in Belgium when the trenches on Hill 60 were demolished by enemy bombardment on 24th April 1916. He never knew about the birth of his son, named Thomas in memory of his father.

Thomas Snowdon is remembered in Sedgefield on S119.03

In Canada he is remembered on their Virtual War Memorial and in their Book of Remembrance.

Canadian Book of Remembrance
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
The CWGC entry for Private Snowdon