MOWAT, Calder Miller
| Service Numbers: | 5071, 5071A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 December 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 49th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ipswich, Queensland, Australia , 6 September 1896 |
| Home Town: | Rockhampton, Rockhampton, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Central Boys School, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Mechanic |
| Died: | Killed in action, Dernancourt, France, 5 April 1918, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Gracemere Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5071, 26th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 5071, 26th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Choon embarkation_ship_number: A49 public_note: '' | |
| 4 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 5071, 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Choon, Brisbane | |
| 17 Oct 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 49th Infantry Battalion | |
| 5 Apr 1918: | Involvement Private, 5071A, 49th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 5071A awm_unit: 49th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-04-05 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Calder Mowat was the son of Donald and Mary Jane Mowat of Rockhampton, Queensland. He was nineteen years of age and a mechanic when he enlisted. His older brother, 4854 Pte. Donald Mowat had enlisted in the 9th Battalion AIF during 1915.
Calder joined the 49th Battalion at the front during October 1916. He suffered a gunshot wound to the foot a month later and was evacuated to England to recover. After doing some training in England he rejoined the 49th Battalion on 14 November 1917.
Calder was killed in action on 5 April 1918, when two companies of the 47th Battalion which were dug in on the railway embankment at Dernancourt were overrun and the German attackers poured through a railway underpass. At 5pm, the 49th Battalion began a counter attack. The battalion moved up and over the ridge and in desperate fighting began to push back on the Germans who were occupying the ground between the ridge and the railway line. The 49th Battalion played a crucial role in holding the German attack at Dernancourt.
Sadly, he has no known grave and his few personal effects were lost at sea when the ship carrying them to Australia, the S.S. Barunga, was sunk after being torpedoed by a German submarine later in 1918.
His brother, Donald Mowat, was three times severely wounded in France with the 9th Battalion, but survived the war and returned to Australia in late 1918.
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