BOWDLER, William Thomas
| Service Numbers: | 109, 868, 166 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 May 1915, Toowoomba, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 26th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, December 1879 |
| Home Town: | Toowoomba, Toowoomba, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Painter |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 15 November 1955, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane, Qld Plot: ANZAC-8-14-17 |
| Memorials: | Toowoomba Roll of Honour WW1 |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Lance Corporal, 109, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Bugler, 109, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 448 notes 1st QMI embarked 1 Nov 1899 aboard Cornwall arriving Cape Town 13 Dec 1899. | |
| 14 Dec 1899: | Promoted Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Lance Corporal, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 1st QMI, Bk1 p. 13, notes promoted to Lance-Corporal Bugler on 14 Dec 1899. | |
| 8 Sep 1900: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Lance Corporal, 109, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, National Archives Australia- Boer War Dossier, notes invalided returned to Australia aboard Damascus arriving Brisbane 1 Sep 1900, discharged 8 Sep 1900. | |
| 1 Jan 1901: | Involvement Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 868, 1st Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse | |
| 18 Feb 1902: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 868, 1st Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 522 notes 1st BACH embarked at Sydney 18 Feb 1902 aboard Custodian arriving Durban 19 Mar 1902. |
World War 1 Service
| 8 May 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 166, Toowoomba, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Jun 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 166, 26th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Jun 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 166, 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Brisbane | |
| 16 Mar 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 166, 26th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour William Thomas Bowdler's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Australian Remembrance Army
𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗿
𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗼: 𝟭𝟬𝟵
Rank: Lance-Corporal Bugler
Unit: 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry
𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗼: 𝟴𝟲𝟴
Rank: Private
Unit: 1st Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse
𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗼: 𝟭𝟲𝟲
Rank: Private
Unit: 26th Infantry Battalion
William Thomas Bowdler is a WW1 veteran who is currently lying in an unmarked grave at Lutwyche Cemetery. We have applied for funding for a plaque to place on his grave so his service to our country is not forgotten.
Lest We Forget
The following has been compiled from information shared by Helen and Daniel, both descendants of William.
William Thomas Bowdler was born on 18th November 1878 in Toowoomba, Queensland to parents Rebecca Mary Livingstone and Martin Bowdler and was the fourth born of eight children (four sons, four daughters).
William, like some of his uncles, his cousins and certainly his brothers were very loyal to their English heritage. He served initially as a member of the Queensland Volunteer Force as part of the Toowoomba contingent. They participated in many of their shooting competitions and came to Brisbane at Victoria Barracks for the various District Competitions. The original Bowdler brothers and their sons were quite musical and were very involved in municipal bands. William in fact was a bugler in the Boer War and World War 1.
𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗼: 𝟭𝟬𝟵 - 𝗕𝗼𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝗿
Served for one year with the 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry before being Invalided from Bloemfontein, South Africa to Queensland, Australia, arriving in Brisbane on 1st September 1900 and was discharged on 8th September.
𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗼: 𝟴𝟲𝟴 - 𝗕𝗼𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝗿
Left by rail from Brisbane on 26th January 1902 and embarked on transport “Custodian” from Sydney, New South Wales on 18th February. Served for six months with the 1st Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse before embarking from Durban, South Africa on 11th July 1902 vis transport “Drayton Grange”, disembarking in Brisbane on 13th August 1902.
𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗼: 𝟭𝟲𝟲 - 𝗪𝗪𝟭
On the 8th May 1915, at 35 years of age and a widowed father of two children (William “Billy” aged 11 years Joyce aged 8 years), he enlisted in Toowoomba for the First World War and was shipped off to Gallipoli. After a couple of months, William was initially diagnosed with diarrhoea which became Enteritis. William then spent the next four months in hospital in Malta. Upon his recovery, he was transferred to Port Said in Egypt. After about nine months, he was moved onto Etaples in France via England. From there he fought in Belgium before ending up in August 1918 in an Australian Hospital in France, due to an undiagnosed fever. By October of the same year, he was transferred to a hospital in England and by December was shipped home to be discharged as medically unfit due to chronic rheumatism.
William passed away in Brisbane, Queensland on 15th November 1955, aged 77 years and was buried at Lutwyche Cemetery.
See the attached newspaper article is written about his son, Billy who “was a keen military enthusiast, and has a full uniform, and a hat with emu feather. He blows a bugle well, and says he wants to join his father”.
Click images to start slideshow.