Fonds F 0182 - Arthur Flowers fonds

Captain Arthur Flowers, M.C. (ca. 1875-1960) was a British-born military careerist and First World War veteran who later in life became known as the outspoken owner of the Pelee Hotel on Pelee Island. Born in Wiltshire, England to master mason Richard Flowers and Harriett (née Sheppard) Flowers, Arthur Flowers joined the Royal Field Artillery in 1892 and served throughout the British Empire with the British Army for 33 years, including service in India, Egypt, Africa, China, and France. These formative imperial military experiences made him a lifelong and vocal supporter of the British Empire and Canada’s ties to Britain, about which he wrote numerous letters to the editor of the Windsor Star during the 1930s.

As a Quartermaster Sergeant stationed in Edinburgh, Flowers met Annie Theresa McDiarmid, an examiner in a local hosiery factory and daughter of master watchmaker Thomas McDiarmid and Annie (née Peace) McDiarmid. The two were married in the Church of Scotland in 1912 and relocated to India when Flowers was stationed there. In September 1914 Flowers’ regiment was called back from India to join the British Expeditionary Force’s efforts on the European front of the Great War; Annie returned to Britain in November 1914. Flowers’ wartime service included being wounded at Mesopotamia ca. 1915-1916, winning the Military Cross (M.C.) for service in France, and being twice cited for bravery in despatches.

Around 1925, Arthur Flowers left the British army and he and Annie immigrated to Canada, settling in Essex County, Ontario. After operating the Pelee Hotel on Pelee Island for 18 years, the Flowers spent seven years in Leamington, ten years in Windsor, and nine years in Amherstburg, until Capt. Flowers’ death in 1960. He was an Anglican by faith, and a longtime member of Masonic Lodges in Edinburgh and Amherstburg. Arthur and Annie did not have children of their own but were survived by nieces and nephews.

Source: contents of fonds.