Walter Callow spent much of his life confined to a hospital bed, blind and unable to move. But his physical limitations did not prevent him from assisting and brightening the lives of thousands of veterans and the physically challenged.

Many terms have been used to describe Walter Callow: compassionate, determined, innovative, business-oriented, humorous and poetic. But it was his concern for the physically challenged for which he is best remembered. His efforts to assist others started in a hospital room at Camp Hill Hospital, Halifax, NS in the 1940s and continues today as the Callow Wheelchair Bus service, more than 40 years after his death.

Walter Callow (pronounced Ca-loo) was born in Parrsboro, NS. Early in life he became a partner in a small business. During the First World War he entered the Royal Flying Corps. While undergoing training as a pilot in 1917 he suffered a severe back injury that would eventually confine him permanently to Camp Hill Hospital in 1937; by 1939, he was blind.

During World War Two, using his hospital room as an office and assisted by staff and volunteers, he directed the raising of funds to provide comfort for Canadians serving overseas. At the end of the war he turned his creative mind to assisting crippled veterans and others with physical disabilities. The result was the specially designed and equipped Callow wheelchair coach. The first coach hit the road in 1947.