Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Sydney was the son of Charles BOWLEY (02.10.1843-22.04.1898) & Catherine WILSON (02.12.1849-24.01.1939) and was born on the 15th of June 1891 in Goolwa, SA.
Charles and Catherine were married at the Residence of Mr SPRY, Port Elliot, SA on 28.07.1870.
Sydney’s father was the son of James BOWLEY & Mary Ann GEORGE and was born on 02.10.1843 in Adelaide, SA.
His mother was the daughter of John WILSON & Matilda LAURIE and was born on 02.12.1849 in Woolwich, Kent, England. She had arrived in Australia on board the Phoebe Dunbar on the 7th of June 1852 with her parents and 4 siblings. The Wilson family had arrived in Goolwa in a bullock and dray.

Sydney was the youngest child born into the family of 8 children. 5 boys and 3 girls.

Sydney’s maternal grandfather; John Wilson, was a fireman on Captain Cadell’s steamboat and was the first blacksmith in the town of Goolwa.

After Sydney’s parents married they made their home in Goolwa and his father was a blacksmith and played cricket for the local team.
His step grandmother died in Goolwa in February 1897 and then grandfather BOWLEY died in December 1897.

Sadly, Sydney was only 6 years of age when his own father died suddenly on 22.04.1898 after collapsing at his blacksmith business.

On Christmas Day 1899 his sister Mary married William John RODGERSON in the BOWLEY family home and then Elsie married William Henry GIBBS the following year in Goodwood.
In April 1901 Sydney became an uncle at the age of 9 years to little Gwendolyne Ann RODGERSON.

Two months later his grandfather Wilson died, followed by grandmother Wilson in 1905.

Sydney was educated at the Goolwa Public School and enjoyed playing football.
In 1913 Sydney was playing football for Goolwa and in June he broke the ligament in his foot and was then out for the entire season.
Sydney was a member of the Forester’s Lodge.

Sydney enlisted into the 16th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement on the 28th of November 1914 and went into camp in January 1915.

At the end of January he returned home to Goolwa to say farewell to his family and friends pending his embarkation.
A farewell gathering was held in the local Institute for Sydney & Howard DODD. The Forester’s Lodge presented Sydney with a silver mounted pipe.

He embarked from Melbourne, on board HMAT A46 Clan Mcgillivray on the 2nd of February 1915.

He served in France until he was wounded and then was and was invalided back to Australia on the 21st of July 1917 and was discharged, medically unfit, on the 15th of February 1918.

On Tuesday night the 25th of September 1917 the residents of Goolwa held a welcome home social for Sydney and the Mayor presented him with a pocket book.

Whilst Sydney was in England his brother Charles enlisted (15018) into the 4th Motor Transport Company on the 22nd of May 1917 and embarked on the 9th of October.

Sydney returned to being a painter and by 1920 he owned a 1907 3 ½hp Triumph motorcycle.

In December 1929 his mother celebrated her 80th birthday in Goolwa.
His mother died on the 24th of January 1939 and they buried her in the Currency Creek Cemetery.

Sydney married Jean Blanche BARNES in 1943 in Goolwa. Jean was the daughter of Thomas Kiffen BARNES & Muriel Blanche ADAMS and was born in 1916 in West Guildford, Perth, WA. Her father had served with the 51st Battalion in WW1 (3122) and had fought at Messines Ridge, Ypres, Somme Valley & Villes-Brettoneaux.

Sydney died on the 28th of May 1959 and was buried in the Currency Creek Cemetery.

Military

At the age of 23 Sydney enlisted into the 16th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement on the 28th of November 1914 in Oaklands and was allotted the service number 1309.
He listed his mother, of Goolwa, as next of kin.

He embarked from Melbourne, on board HMAT A46 Clan Mcgillivray on the 2nd of February 1915.
His Battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC beachhead. It was here that he suffered a Gun Shot Wound to his left thigh on the 2nd of May 1915 and transferred to the 1st Southern General Hospital in Birmingham, England. He returned to his Battalion 4 months later, who were now in Mudros, Lemnos.
The following months he contracted Influenza and was admitted to hospital for 6 weeks before rejoining his Battalion.

After their withdrawal from Gallipoli, the battalion returned to Egypt. While there the AIF expanded and was reorganised. The 16th Battalion was split and provided experienced soldiers for the 48th Battalion.

On the 3rd of March 1916 Sydney was transferred to the newly raised 48th Battalion in Tel el Kebir, Egypt and became known as the “Joan of Ark” Battalion.
They proceeded to France on the 9th of June.
They took part in bloody trench warfare and their first major action in France was at Pozieres in the Somme valley in late June.

On the morning of the 7th of August 1916, after a night of heavy shelling, the Germans began to overrun a portion of the line which included Sydney and the 48th Battalion and Sydney and several others were taken prisoners

At this time the 14th Battalion was with them, which included Second Lieutenant JACKA V.C.
Jacka had just completed a reconnaissance, and had gone to his dug-out when two Germans appeared at its entrance and rolled a bomb down the doorway, killing two of his men. Emerging from the dug-out, Jacka came upon a large number of Germans rounding up some Australians as prisoners. Only seven men from his platoon had recovered from the blast; rallying these few, he charged at the enemy. Heavy hand-to-hand fighting ensued, as the Australian prisoners turned on their captors. Every member of the platoon was wounded, including Jacka who was wounded seven times; including an injury from a bullet that passed through his body under his right shoulder, and two head wounds. Fifty Germans were captured and the line was retaken; Jacka was personally credited with killing between twelve and twenty Germans during the engagement.
JACKA was awarded the Military Cross for his actions.

The following day Sydney suffered a Gun Shot Wound to his right wrist & buttock on the 8th of August 1916 and transferred to the 2nd Eastern General Hospital in Brighton, England where he underwent an operation on his wrist and spent 2 months recovering before being transferred to the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital.

He never returned to his Battalion and was invalided back to Australia on the 21st of July 1917 and was discharged, medically unfit, on the 15th of February 1918.