Walter Harris Callow

Walter Harris Callow
Born	1896 Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, Canada
Died	1958 (aged 61–62)
Occupation	Real estate agent
Known for	inventing the accessibility bus for veterans

Walter Harris Callow (1896–1958) was a Canadian veteran who invented the accessibility bus for veterans returning from WW2 and others in wheelchairs (1947).^[1][2] He designed and managed the Walter Callow Wheelchair Bus, while he himself was blind, quadriplegic and, eventually had both legs amputated. Callow planned trips for disabled veterans, tours of the countryside, picnics, sporting events, art classes and other activities. He was born in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia and became a resident of the Camp Hill Military Hospital for twenty years.

Biography

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Military history of Nova Scotia
Citadel Hill in Halifax
Notable events Battle of Port Royal 1690 Siege of Port Royal 1710 Battle of Winnepang 1722 Northeast Coast Campaign 1745 Battle of Grand Pré 1747 Dartmouth Massacre 1751 Bay of Fundy Campaign 1755 Siege of Louisbourg 1758 Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax 1758 Halifax Treaties 1760–1761 Battle of Fort Cumberland 1776 Raid on Lunenburg 1782 Establishment of New Ireland 1812 Capture of USS Chesapeake 1813 ‪Battle of the Great Redan 1855 ‪Siege of Lucknow 1857 CSS Tallahassee escape 1861 ‪Halifax Provisional Battalion 1885 ‪Battle of Witpoort 1899 ‪Battle of Paardeberg 1899 Imprisonment of Leon Trotsky 1917 Jewish Legion formed 1917 Sinking of Llandovery Castle 1918 Battle of the St. Lawrence 1942–1944 Sinking of Point Pleasant Park 1945 Halifax VE-Day riot 1945
Notable regiments Mi'kmaq militias 1677–1779 Acadian militias 1689–1761 40th Regiment of Foot 1717–1757 Louisbourg Garrison 1717–1758 Gorham's Rangers 1744–1762 Danks' Rangers 1756–1762 84th Regiment of Foot 1775–1784 Royal Fencible American 1775–1783 Royal Nova Scotia Volunteers 1775–1783 King's Orange Rangers 1776–1783 1st Field Artillery from 1791 Royal Nova Scotia 1793–1802 Nova Scotia Fencibles 1803–1816 Halifax Rifles from 1860 Princess Louise Fusiliers from 1867 78th Highland 1869–1871 Cape Breton Highlanders from 1871 Nova Scotia Rifles 1914–1919 No. 2 Construction Battalion 1916–1919 West Nova Scotia from 1916 Nova Scotia Highlanders from 1954
Related topics Captivity narratives Impressment
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As a member of the Royal Flying Corps in Camp Mohawk, Ontario, Callow crashed in a test flight in 1918. He received a serious back injury and a heart condition. He continued on in a lumber business in Advocate, Nova Scotia. He eventually became bed-ridden in 1931 because of his injuries, the same year his mother and wife died and left him with a young child. He continued business by selling real-estate.

In 1937 Callow became a full-time resident of the Camp Hill Hospital and two years later he was blind and quadriplegic. While at the Hospital he established a board of directors and hired two secretaries. He established the Callow Cigarette Fund to send cigarettes to soldiers serving over-seas during World War II.

After the war, he turned his cigarette fund into a wheelchair coach service for disabled veterans (1947).^[3] He started by having two custom-made buses built in Pubnico, Nova Scotia; five subsequent buses were built by Prevost, and smaller models by others followed. He named the company the "Callow Veterans' and Invalids' Welfare League" and established an office in Halifax. He worked tirelessly to make facilities accessible and to make visible the needs of those with physical disabilities. The Walter Callow bus system operated throughout Nova Scotia until 2019, and a single Callow bus operated out of Lethbridge, Alberta between 1954 and 1969.

Walter Harris Callow's funeral was conducted in Halifax with full military honours. The only time that Callow had the opportunity to ride on his bus is when his body was returned to Advocate to be buried.

Legacy

There was an unveiling of the Walter Callow Memorial Plaque at the Advocate cemetery on 10 August 2001.

The Walter Callow Wheelchair Bus ceased operations in 2018.^[4]

See also

• Military history of Nova Scotia
• List of people with quadriplegia
• Wheelchair accessible van

References

Endnotes

Texts

• The Achievement of Walter Callow. Montreal Gazette. 26 February 1953
• The Story of the Callow Wheelchair Coach
• Wheelchair bus service turns 65, founder lauded. Chronicle Herald
• Walter Callow. A Challenge: Will You Help? Walter Callow's Veterans and Invalids Club. Halifax : Wm. Macnab & Son, 1947
• Lethbridge Herald. Caring and Courage. 25 November 1752, p. 9
• Montreal Gazette 22 March 1955