COWELL, Claude Maxwell
| Service Number: | 4269 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 November 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 21st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mortlake, Victoria, Australia, 1889 |
| Home Town: | Mortlake, Moyne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Accountant |
| Died: | Mortlake, Victoria, Australia, 4 February 1971, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Mortlake Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: | Lindenow Roll of Honour WW1, Shire of Mortlake War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Nov 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4269, 21st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 4269, 21st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 4269, 21st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wiltshire, Melbourne | |
| 19 May 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 21st Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Claude Maxwell Cowell's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Claude was one of the sons of James and Emily Cowell, of Mortlake, Victoria.
An older brother 1403 Pte. Harry Stephen Cowell 16th Battalion AIF, died of wounds at Gallipoli 3 May 1915, aged 30.
Another older brother, 1695 Pte. Charles Thomas Cowell 23rd Battalion AIF, died of nephritis in the 1st Eastern General Hospital, Cambridge, England on 23 October 1917.
James served with the 21st Battalion and joined his unit at the front during September 1916. He was shot in the foot during May 1917 and evacuated to England to recover. He rejoined the 21st Battalion at the front during August 1917, and promoted to Corporal during May 1918.
In June 1918 he was sent to England. In his service file there is a document dated August 1918 which states, “Following copy of a cablegram has been received from the, Department of Defence, “Please return 4269 Pte. CLAUDE COWELL 10th rfts, 21st Battalion, for discharge, for family reasons.”
As Claude had lost two brothers by late 1917, it could be assumed that a family member had made a successful case for him to be returned to Australia.
Claude returned to Australia during September 1918 and remained in Mortlake, passing away there in 1971, at 81 years of age.