Item 0002 - Letter, 2 February 1910

Edward Spragge Winslow was born on 23 November 1886 in Montreal to Edward Pelham Winslow and Sarah Maria Alice Spragge. He grew up in New Brunswick and Ontario and had six siblings, including his younger brothers Hugh Pelham Winslow and Kenelm Molson Winslow. Winslow studied science at McGill University, specializing in mechanical engineering. He went on to work for various businesses around Montreal, eventually joining Canadian Ingersoll-Rand as a salesman, where he would work for the rest of his career. On 12 October 1912, Winslow married Lois Sybil Harrington, the daughter of Anna Dawson-Harrington and B.J. Harrington. Together they had five children: Alice Margaret Winslow Spragge (Simons), Edward Winslow-Spragge, Ruth Naomi Winslow-Spragge (Cobbett), Anne Virginia Winslow-Spragge (Byers), and Mary Lois Winslow-Spragge (Duclos). With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Winslow was appointed the manager of the munitions department for the Ingersoll-Rand factory in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Winslow was very involved in advocating for the role of Canadian manufacturers in the war effort, especially in relation to the Imperial Munitions Board. Under his management, the Sherbrooke factory was a leading Canadian producer of 8-inch and 6-inch shells during World War I. After the war, Winslow rose through the company ranks, eventually becoming the General Manager and First Vice-President. In the 1930s, Winslow changed his name to Edward Winslow-Spragge, as did Lois and their children, to respect a family wish that Edward, the WInslow' eldest son, would carry on his mother's surname as well. During World War II, Winslow was once again very involved in seeking and obtaining manufacturing contracts for Canadian producers as part of the war effort. After surviving a heart attach in 1942, Winslow left his job at Ingersoll-Rand, and took on a volunteer position with the Wartime Bureau of Technical Personnel, where he was an Associate Financial Advisor working with victory loans. In 1946, Winslow resigned from his position and received the Order of the British Empire. He retired to Almonte, Ontario, shortly afterward and lived there with his family until his death on 22 February 1953.