TOWIE, Wilfred
| Service Number: | WX12220 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 May 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Lancashire, England, 8 August 1902 |
| Home Town: | Midland, Swan, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, 13 August 1981, aged 79 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 2 May 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX12220 | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Jun 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sapper, WX12220, embarked Sydney for Liverpool per HMAT Themistocles | |
| 9 Nov 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sapper, WX12220, embarked England for Brisbane per Henry Ainsworth | |
| 28 Jul 1944: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX12220 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sapper Wilfred Towie (Service No:WX12220) enlisted in the Army on 2 May 1941 and embarked with 3rd Forestry Coy from Sydney for Liverpool on 30 June 1941 on board HMAT Themistocles. Sapper Towie embarked from England for Brisbane on 4 November 1943 on board the Henry Ainsworth and was awarded the Commander in Chief's Card on 19 January 1944. Sapper Towie was attached to the Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) Training Centre at Discharge on 28 July 1944.
Eighth of eleven children, Wilfred was born in 1902 in Lancashire, England to John Henry Towie (b1862 in Staffordshire, England) and Elizabeth Roden (b1870 in Lancashire). Henry (a Smelterer) and Elizabeth (a Spinner) married in 1881 in Lancashire and in 1906 immigrated with their children, arriving in Fremantle WA on board the Orontes. John and Elizabeth settled at Balbarrup where John was a Farmer before moving to Jardanaup in the 1920s (Farmer) and retiring to Manjimup in the 1930s.
Wilfred worked as an Engine Driver at Mornington Mills and in 1923 in Blackwood WA married Gretna Doreen O'Grady (b1903 in Fremantle, WA) - Gretna died in 1924. In 1933 in Bridgetown, WA Wilfred remarried to Alma May Turner (b1912 in Bridgetown, WA). Wilfred was a Labourer and Engine Driver in Midland WA when he enlisted in WWII and worked in Wundowie nr Northam as a Steel Worker following his Discharge. Wilfred and Alma divorced in 1952, and both remarried - Wilfred in 1952 to Leila Edith Fairclough (b1899 in Kanmantoo, South Australia) - Leila worked in South Perth as a Waitress. Wilfred and Leila settled in Perth where Wilfred worked as a Welder until retirement in the early 1960s. Leila died in 1974 and Wilfred in 1981.