TOWIE, John Howard Rex
| Service Number: | 427040 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 April 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Warrant Officer |
| Last Unit: | Aircrew Holding Units |
| Born: | Jardanup, Western Australia, 1 June 1923 |
| Home Town: | Bunbury, Bunbury, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Bunbury State High School, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Died: | Adelaide, South Australia, 16 September 2015, aged 92 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Enfield Memorial Park, South Australia Ashes collected |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 26 Apr 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Warrant Officer, 427040, Aircrew Holding Units | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Jul 1942: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, No. 5 Initial Training School Pearce | |
| 19 Aug 1943: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 5 Embarkation Depot (Perth) | |
| 14 Feb 1944: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, Operational Training Units (RAF) | |
| 19 Feb 1945: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Warrant Officer, No. 49 Squadron (RAF) | |
| 29 Nov 1945: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Warrant Officer, 427040, Aircrew Holding Units | |
| 29 Nov 1945: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Warrant Officer, 427040 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Warrant Officer John Howard Rex Towie (Service No:427040) enlisted in the RAAF on 26 April 1942 as an Aircraftman attached to No 5 Initial Training School (ITS) Pearce. Promoted to Leading Aircraftman on 18 July 1942, he completed 1 Wireless Air Gunners School (WAGS) Ballarat and 3 Bombing and Air Gunnery School (BAGS) before being promoted to Sergeant in August 1943. Sergeant Towie served in the UK (13 October 1943 - 11 October 1945) with 51 (75) Base and 49 Squadron in Fulbeck and Syerston, flying in Lancasters on bombing raids. Promoted to Warrant Officer on 19 February 1945, he was Discharged on 29 November 1945.
Rex was born in Jardanup, WA in 1923 to John Michael Towie (b1900 in Lancashire, England) and Elea Clovelly Richards (b1901 in Wagin, WA). John arrived in Fremantle WA in 1906 on board the Orontes with his parents and siblings and was a Farm Hand in Manjimup in 1915 when he enlisted in the AIF (Private; Service Nos:5230/3140). John (a Farmer) and Elea married in 1921 and lived in Perth, where John worked for WAGR as a Conductor and Motorman before returning to the Collie/Bunbury region where he worked as an Engine Driver. John served in WWII (Sergeant; Service Nos:W30770/WX31939) and following his Discharge, he and Elea settled in Perth where John worked as a Welder and Fitter.
A student when he enlisted in the RAAF in 1942, Rex was in London in 1945 when he married Reubena (Ruby) Tosh Macadie (b1925 in London, England) - Ruby was a Civil Servant and arrived in 1946 in Melbourne, Victoria on board the Rangitata. Rex and Ruby settled in Perth WA where Rex joined the Public Service - initially with the Department of Housing and Works, then the Department of Treasury before retiring from the Department of Health in 1985. Rex and Ruby moved to Adelaide, South Australia where Ruby died in 2012 and Rex in 2015.
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