BOWEN, Francis Patrick Lawrence
| Service Number: | 1804 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 29th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Terang, Corangamite, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 15 December 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Messines Ridge British Cemetery Messines Ridge British Cemetery, Messines, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Haymarket Railways Traffic Branch Roll of Honour, Terang War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 1804, 7th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Persic embarkation_ship_number: A34 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 1804, 7th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Persic, Sydney | |
| 15 Dec 1917: | Involvement Private, 1804, 29th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1804 awm_unit: 29th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-12-15 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Francis Patrick Lawrence BOWEN (Service Number 1804A) was born on 10 March 1890 at Terang, Victoria. He commenced work with the NSW Railways as a porter in the Sydney District on 12 December 1913. This cannot have been a very satisfactory start to a career as he was ‘dispensed with’ only 12 days later. He resumed work early in the new year, this time at Darling Harbour and became a permanent employee in August 1914.
A year later he was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces and enlisted in the 7th Light Horse on 27 July 1915. He left Australia through Sydney on HMAT ‘Persic’ on 18 November 1915. Taken on the strength of the regiment at Maadi he was not well behaved. He received 28 days F.P. No. 1 for being absent for 24 hours, giving a false name to an MP, using filthy language to a civilian, conduct to prejudice of good order and military discipline, resisting arrest and neglect of duty. On 20 May he was again punished for being AWL and being in Zagagig without a pass, but a week later was caught once more for being AWL.
He left Alexandria as a stowaway and reached Marseilles where he was taken on the strength of the 1st Anzac Light Horse Regiment in August 1916, and in March 1917 transferred to the 29th Infantry Battalion. He was still in trouble for in June he failed to appear on parade and was further punished.
He died at Messines, Belgium, on 15 December 1917 when a shell landed close to his dug-out. He was quickly buried nearby, but later exhumed and buried at the Messines Ridge British Cemetery.
(NAA B2455-3102618)
Submitted 11 May 2023 by John Oakes