TOWIE, John Michael
| Service Numbers: | 5230, 3140, W30770, WX31939 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 January 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | Works / Labour / Employment / 'Alien' Company/ies |
| Born: | Lancashire, England, 16 March 1900 |
| Home Town: | Manjimup, Manjimup, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farm Hand |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, 18 May 1983, aged 83 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5230, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Mar 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 5230, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
| 24 May 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 48th Infantry Battalion | |
| 2 Sep 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 5230, 48th Infantry Battalion, embarked Suez for RTA on board the Ascanius | |
| 29 Dec 1916: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 5230, 48th Infantry Battalion | |
| 30 Dec 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3140, 44th Infantry Battalion | |
| 29 Jan 1917: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3140, 44th Infantry Battalion, embarked from Fremantle for Devonport, on board HMAT A28 Miltiades | |
| 16 Jun 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, Australian Machine Gun Corps | |
| 11 Jan 1918: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3140, Australian Machine Gun Corps , embarked England for Albany WA per HT Port Darwin | |
| 7 Apr 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 3140, Australian Machine Gun Corps |
World War 2 Service
| 1 Dec 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, W30770, 19 Garrison Battalion (WA) | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Jul 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, W30770, 19 Garrison Battalion (WA) | |
| 31 Jul 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, WX31939 | |
| 23 Jul 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, Works / Labour / Employment / 'Alien' Company/ies, embarked from Brisbane for Torokina per Westralia 16 Australian Works Coy | |
| 3 Nov 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, Works / Labour / Employment / 'Alien' Company/ies, embarked Bougainville for RTA | |
| 27 Nov 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, WX31939 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sergeant John Michael Towie (Service No:WX31939) first enlisted in the ACMF (Private; Service No:W30770) from 1 December 1941 to 20 July 1942 and served with 19 Garrison Battalion as a Trainee Armourer. He then re-enlisted in the AIF, serving with 114 Mobile Bath Unit. Sergeant Towie served in New Guinea (Bougainville) in 1945 and was attached to 16 Works Coy at Discharge on 27 November 1945. He served as a Private in WWI (Service Nos:5230/3140).
Born in 1900 in Lancashire England, John was the seventh of eleven children of John Henry Towie (b1862 in Staffordshire, England) and Elizabeth Roden (b1870 in Lancashire). John Snr (a Smelterer) and Elizabeth (a Spinner) married in 1881 in Lancashire and in 1906 immigrated with their children, arriving in Fremantle WA on board the Orontes. John Snr and Elizabeth settled at Balbarrup where John Snr was a Farmer before relocating to Jardanup in the early 1930s.
John started work as a Farm Hand and Log Hauler in Collie WA, and was a Farmer at Jardanup in 1922 when he married Elea Clovelly Richards (b1901 in Wagin, WA). By 1924 John and Elea were living in Perth, where John worked for WAGR as a Conductor and Motorman. By the mid 1930s John and Elea were living at Worsley nr Collie where John was an Engine Driver and Fitter. Following his service in WWII, John and Elea settled in Perth where John worked as a Welder and Fitter. Elea died in 1961 and John in 1983.
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