ROWLANDS, Wesley Richard
| Service Number: | 1877 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 31st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Homebush, Victoria, Australia, 1892 |
| Home Town: | Homebush, Pyrenees, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Fromelles, France, 21 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles, Lille, Nord Pas de Calais, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Avoca Soldiers Memorial, Homebush Honor Roll, V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1877, 31st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jan 1916: | Involvement Private, 1877, 31st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
| 3 Jan 1916: | Embarked Private, 1877, 31st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kyarra, Brisbane |
Help us honour Wesley Richard Rowlands's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Wesley Richards 'Wes' Rowland was born in 1892 at Homebush near Avoca Victoria. He enlisted as Wesley Richard Rowlands at Bendigo on 9 August 1915, 23 years old, unmarried, a labourer.
His name is recorded as Rowlands on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour and the CWGC, but the family name is Rowland.
Wes Rowland was killed in action between 19 and 20 July 1916 at the Battle of Fromelles, one of the 544 casualties of the 31st Australian Infantry Battalion, a unit which for some reason listed a lot of it’s casualties as 21 July 1916.
Avoca newspapers and his family wrongly reported that he had been killed at Pozieres, eighty kilometres away, on 21 July 1916. A court of enquiry in August 1917 found that he had been killed in action at Fromelles.
Wes Rowland's service personnel dossier states he is buried in the vicinity of Fleurbaix, a few kilometres from the village of Fromelles. He is memorialised at V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles.
On the Avoca Soldiers Memorial and on the Honour Board of the Avoca Methodist Church Wes and his brother, Henry Herbert killed at Krithia, Cape Helles 1915, are listed among the fallen.
Their youngest brother VX24175 Private Lindsay Ebenezer Rowland 2/22nd Battalion AIF died as POW at sea 1 July 1942, (Montevideo Maru) age 42.
Click images to start slideshow.