S20345
BOWEN, Haddon Lancelot
| Service Number: | 1866 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 December 1915, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 50th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Rowing Club WW1 Pictorial Honour Board, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Jul 1916: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Private, 1866, 50th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Bee embarkation_ship_number: A48 public_note: '' |
|
| 13 Jul 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1866, 50th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Bee, Adelaide | |
| 2 Apr 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1866, 50th Infantry Battalion, German Withdrawal to Hindenburg Line and Outpost Villages | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1866, 50th Infantry Battalion | |
| 3 May 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1 | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 1866, 50th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Haddon Lancelot Bowen's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography
Haddon Lancelot Bowen was a 30 year old clerk from Adelaide, South Australia when he enlisted on 4 December 1915. He stated that he was single and was Baptist by religion with no prior military experience.
He embarked for overseas as an Acting Sergeant with the 3rd Reinforcements of the 50th Battalion from Adelaide on 13 July 1916 aboard HMAT Seang Bee (A48). He was introduced to the concept of Trench Warfare at Codford on the Salisbury Plains in England with the 13th Training Battalion and after finishing was taken on strength by the 50th Battalion in France on 14 December 1916. By this time he had been reverted back to the rank of Private and was allocated to 'A' Company.
The first action he saw on the Western Front was at the outpost village of Noreuil on 2 April 1917. Along with other members of 'A' Company, whose flank on both sides was 'in the air' during the attack was captured by German Forces. He was held as a Prisoner of War (POW) in camps at Limburg and Friedrichsfeld in Germany until the end of the war. Haddon was repatriated to England on 28 November 1918 and arrived back in Australia on 21 March 1919.
British War Medal: 15087
Victory Medal: 14819
Information: Adelaide Rowing Club, Personal Service Papers.
Click images to start slideshow.