92 years after death, N.B. woman laid to rest
Last Updated: Sunday, November 15, 2009 | 10:57 PM AT
CBC News
Members of the 8th Canadian Hussars struggle with Gladys Fowler's coffin, which is lined with lead and weighs 210 kilograms. (CBC)More than 50 people braved the rain Sunday to attend the burial of Gladys Winifred Fowler in Hammondvale, N.B.
But none of the military men, members of her childhood community, or even her relatives ever knew her.
Fowler died in London during the First World War.
The coffin containing the 18-year-old woman's remains lay unnoticed in a catacomb there for 92 years until it was discovered and made public earlier this year.
On Sunday, a piper played as members of the 8th Canadian Hussars New Brunswick military unit carried the wood-framed coffin up a hill at the Hammondvale cemetery to Fowler's family plot.
During the brief ceremony, some scripture was read and Amazing Grace was sung as the casket was lowered into the ground.
Two white roses, pulled from the bouquet that had been resting on the coffin, were handed to Fowler's niece and nephew, who live in the U.S.
Niece Jane Fowler-Morse and nephew John Fowler found the burial service emotional but were grateful to see their aunt finally laid to rest. (CBC)"I don't know if there was a wrong… There was unfinished business, let's say, that was finished today and a [circle] was closed for our family and I'm grateful for that," said nephew John Fowler, who lives in Pennsylvania.
"I'm humbled by the Canadian people and the outpouring of support," he said, struggling to maintain his composure.
Fowler's surviving relatives had always believed she was already buried at the Hammondvale cemetery, near Sussex, because the family's huge granite monument is already inscribed with her name.
"It is surreal. This whole day is surreal," said niece Jane Fowler Morse, who lives in western New York. "I think the rain is even appropriate for this sort of event. And now she's up there, next to her mother," she said, fighting back tears.
"It has been amazingly emotional, deeply moving, that the Fowler name is here and that we have cousins here that we didn't even know and that our grandfather is remembered so well by his unit and the people here."
Fowler's late father, New Brunswick MP George Fowler, had served in the First World War, which is why Fowler was in England when she died of heart problems in 1917.
The coffin containing the remains of Gladys Winifred Fowler went unnoticed in a catacomb in London, England for more than 90 years. (CBC)"I think the story of a very young girl who died as a result of a very terrible war in which many people died; I think that story of this young girl left behind for whatever reason we'll never know, is what's captivating people," her niece said.
"And I think the Canadian people have a very strong affinity for one another and treasure each other's connections."
During the service, a rose was also handed to Barry Smith, a trustee with the London cemetery who was responsible for discovering who Fowler was and tracking down her niece.
He said there had been rumours the coffin was originally from India but no one knew for sure. So earlier this year, overcome with curiosity, he decided to open it, he said.
"We're rather sad to lose her now," said Smith, who accompanied Fowler's body home. "We've learned so much about her, but we know she's coming back to her family, to her country where she should be."
