Lowe, AC

Brigadier General Arthur Cecil Lowe

Arthur was born on October 26^th 1868, the second of ten children of shipbroker William Lowe and his wife, Emily. His time at Dulwich lasted less than a year as, having joined in May 1884, he left the College at the end of that year. He took up a commission in the Honourable Artillery Company in December 1895, and on the outbreak of the Boer War went to South Africa with the City Imperial Volunteers. He served with them throughout the war, including being around Pretoria in the summer of 1900, and in the Orange River Colony the following year. His service during the war was highly commended, as it saw him mentioned in dispatches and also awarded the D.S.O. After the war he returned to the H.A.C., and by 1904 held the rank of Major. He later went on to spend time serving with the City of London Horse Artillery and was a military member of the City of London Territorial Force Association. Away from military life he was a freeman of the City of London, as well as being a Liveryman of the Skinners’ Company.

When war was declared in the summer of 1914 Arthur was out in the Far East, and upon his return he was placed in command of the 236^th Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery, part of the British 47^th Division. The following February he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and placed in command of ammunition supply for the entire division. He served in France with the 47^th Division for the next two years, spending much of it commanding an artillery group which bore his name. In August 1917 he was promoted to Brigadier-General and placed in command of artillery for the 66^th Division. He had only been in his new post for a handful of months when he was killed, near Zonnebeke, on November 24^th. His service during the war had once again seen him honoured, as he was mentioned in dispatches three times and awarded the C.M.G. He was survived by his widow, Amy, and was, as a Brigadier-General, the highest ranking OA to fall during the war.