John 'Bud' Clowry

"John Clowry was from Barrack Street [in Wexford, Ireland]. As a young man he worked in the Pierce's foundry [ Mill Road Ironworks]. Following the 1911 'lockout' of foundry workers by their employers, James Connolly came to Wexford in 1912 to negotiate on behalf of the workers. At a rally in Swan View, Wexford, Connolly's platform was surrounded by a bodyguard of local men for fear of attack by the police. John Clowry was part of that bodyguard. At the outbreak of the war he joined the British Army as a member of the Royal Irish Regiment. He saw action on many fronts and was taken prisoner. While in a prisoner of war camp he befriended a French prisoner and taught him English. This prisoner was Maurice Chevalier, later an actor on the silver screen. John survived the war and joined the Free State Army at the outbreak of the Irish Civil War. He died in St. John's Hospital, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford on 23 December, 1969."