COWLAND, William Horace
| Service Number: | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 August 1915, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 32nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Towitta, South Australia, 27 September 1897 |
| Home Town: | Towitta, Mid Murray, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Towitta Public School, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 24 June 1918, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Cambrai WW1 Roll of Honour, Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Sedan Institute Honour Roll, Truro War Memorial, Truro and District Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2010, Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Feb 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2010, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Feb 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2010, 32nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Miltiades, Adelaide | |
| 24 Jun 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 2010, 32nd Infantry Battalion, "Peaceful Penetration - Low-Cost, High-Gain Tactics on the Western Front", --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2010 awm_unit: 32nd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1918-06-24 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
William Cowland enlisted during August 1915, at the age of 17, along with his older brother John Cowland. They both served in the 32nd Battalion, with consecutive regimental numbers. John was killed in action during the Battle of Fromelles. William also fought at Fromelles, but survived and was promoted to Lance Corporal later in 1916.
William was killed on the 24 June 1918, still only 20 years of age, when a German plane dropped a bomb near a group of 32nd Battalion soldiers behind the lines. The Battalion diary states that 16 men were killed and 11 wounded during this incident. It seems the dead were all buried in a cemetery near Vaux-sur-Somme and later removed to the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery.
A third brother Edward Allan Cowland was died after being thrown from a horse at Baldon Station, South Australia, Australia 19 December 1917, age 22.
The parents who sustained the loss of three sons in as many years were Richard and Elizabeth Cowland, of Morgan, South Australia.
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