Maurice Finbow was born January 11, 1914 in Toronto. His father was Herbert James William Finbow, who was born on December 31, 1889 in Ipswich, England to an oil cake moulder and Maurice's mother was Jeannie Barclay Wright who was born in Wales in 1893 to Scottish parents. Herbert arrived in Canada in 1909 to work on a farm in Thornton, Ontario, south of Barrie. Jeannie claimed she arrived in 1908. The only documented Jeannie Wright of the same age who arrived in Canada that year was with a group of Quarriers children who were going to the Quarriers home in Brockville, Ontario. Willam Quarrier founded an orphan's home in Scotland and had a receiving home in Brockville. Like the British Home Children, orphans and children from destitute families were sent to Canada to be educated and trained for a trade. This Jeannie trained to be a domestic.

 

The couple married in New York City in 1913. After Maurice, the Finbows had a daughter, Dorothy in 1915 and then Florence in 1918. The next year the family moved into 98 Golfview Avenue. Herbert was a stationary engineer, latterly with the Toronto Terminals Railway and was also a member of the Orange Order.

 

Maurice started school at Norway in 1920. Another son, Harold Thomas was born in 1921. On Sunday July 24 that year, six year old Dorothy took three year old Florence to play in Norway's playground in the afternoon. Dorothy was struck by a car on Kingston Road in front of the school. Her parents found out when little Florence came home alone and told them that Dorothy had been hit. Herbert rushed to the scene and found Dorothy still on the road, while the car's driver, a man from Brockville, and witnesses were waiting for medical assistance. Herbert picked the girl up to put her into an automobile, but she died in his arms.

 

After leaving Norway in 1928, Maurice attended and graduated from Eastern Commerce, excelling in Math. He was a good basketball player and played for the school team. He also played rugby. Later he admitted that he liked hunting, fishing, sailing, golf and a game of bridge. After graduating in 1932, he worked in photography studios for six years, the last one being Meyers Studios at 94 Yonge Street from 1936 to 1938.

 

In 1933, a another brother, Gordon Loudon Wright Finbow was born.

 

In 1938 Maurice gave up photography and began working as an insurance salesman for Mutual Benefit insurance company which provided railroad insurance. He married Kathleen Mavis Norris on December 12, 1938. They may have met at Eastern Commece.  They rented an apartment in the Beach area.

 

When war broke out in 1939, Maurice tried to join up as a photographer, but he didn't pass the trade test. He worked on his photography skills and later passed the test but by that time, the quota for photographers was filled. When the regulation was changed that married men could enlist, he wanted to join the RCAF as aircrew but it was suggested he try to be a radio mechanic.

 

He enlisted on April 5, 1941 and was living at 30 Brookmount Road in the Beach Triangle at the time. He trained for a year in the Toronto area including a six and a half month RCAF radio course at The University of Toronto, and pilot training in Oshawa in the spring of 1942.

 

His mother died on May 24, 1942. She was very involved with committees and with St. John's Norway church. After the funeral, Maurice returned to his flight training. He flew for 112 hours, but was not deemed to be good pilot material.  He was sent to RCAF St. Johns, south of Montreal, to train at the No. 2 Air Observers school where he successfully graduated as a navigator on October 9. For his two week embarkation leave, he returned to Toronto until the 24th. Maurice sailed from Halifax at the end of October and arrived in England on November 11 to get his assignment at the personnel reception centre in Bournemouth. He had been transferred to the Royal Air Force and many Canadians were serving in the RAF squadrons alongside other Commonwealth airmen.

 

After a month at RAF Filey, an RAF training depot in Yorkshire, on March 22, 1943, Maurice was posted to RAF Jurby, a training school on the Isle of Man.