Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Killed in action on April 26 - just three years to the day he was first wounded at Gallipoli-one more of Richmond's heroes in Lieut. Clarrie E. Bowen. He was laying the foundations of what seemed certain to be a prosperous legal practice when the war call first came ringing over the seas. Clarrie Bowen was one of the first into the recruiting depot. He enlisted as a private. A young man of high attainment, but unassuming and white clean through, there wasn't a more respected soldier at Broadmeadows. He made more friends than any other man in camp. When the first transports left Port Melbourne, Clarrie Bowen was aboard-and when the flat-bottomed boats pushed out from the warships in the Aegian Sea and set out silently for the shore at Gallipoli, again Clarrie Bowen, now a corporal, was aboard. He, was one of the many who went over in the hell of the landing that will ilve for ever, but serious though. his wounds first seemed to be, his fine, clean physique served him well and he speedily recovered. Back in the lines, Clarrie Bowen was more loved than ever by the boys with whom he stood shoulder to shoulder. He stayed it out till the Evacuation. Then he went to France, and his ability and courage at tracted further attention from commanding officers. Clarrie Bowen became a lieutenant. As when a private, so now as officer he had the full respect of the rank and file. Any returned man who served or mixed with his battalion will tell you that. He was just about to be sent another step up the ladder of promotion-he was recommended for captain-but Allah intervened. Lieut. Bowen was wanted for even a Higher Service.

Thus was cut short in its heyday the life of one of the straightest men God ever put breath in. In civil life, as was the case in his military career, all his success was his own. He began at the bottom and climbed to the top. His school days were spent at Yarra Park, but long after he left school he was still carrying on his own schooling. He worked as a telegraph messenger and he soon  acquired sufficient knowledge to qualify as a telegraph operator. But even as he was sending messages over the wires, other ideas were in Bowen's head. His inclination was all in the direction of a legal career, and severing his connection with the Telegraph Department, he took a position in a solicitor's office. The practical experience he gained further equipped him to pass with honors the University examination. The Yarra Park school boy, off his own bat entirely, gained his LL.B. degree. Admitted to the bar, he'started in practice, and his conscientious ability and brilliancy would have ensured for him a high place in the chosen profession, but the call sounded-and no sacrifice was ever too great for Clarrie Bowen to make when he considered he had a duty to perform. He never had a drink of intoxicating liquor in his life, but he was a sport. He was a crack -shot and a leading member of the Richmond Rifle Club, and no great er enthusiasts ever handled an oar as one of the crews of the Richmond Rowing Club. As well as being a Rechabite, he was a member of the Ricmond branch of the A.N.A.,I and he. filled with credit and marked ability some of the highest offices in that Order. Three sisters live to cherish his memory, but the mother and father died many years ago. This, note would be incomplete if it did not bring in the names of Miss Ellen Goodwin and Mr. J. Goodwin, of "Yarra," Coppin-street. He was Jack Goodwin's mate.