Louis Bowley was born in Nottingham, England, in 1885. He emigrated to Canada in 1909, settling in Saskatchewan, as did his brothers Will and Frank, his sister Zilla, and their father, Joseph. Zilla married Walter Ward; Norm Jones was a cousin by marriage of the Ward family. Lou joined the Princess Pats (4th University Company) in 1914 and served in France; he was discharged from the army in 1920. In 1926 he married Mary Gilbert Bond, who trained as a teacher in England and continued that profession in Saskatchewan. They eventually settled in Saskatoon. Although Lou’s brothers Will and Frank both attended the University of Saskatchewan, Lou did not; he worked as a customs officer with the Saskatoon Post Office from 1920 until his death in 1950.