BOWCOCK, Harry
| Service Number: | 2870 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 June 1916, Place of Enlistment, Cairns, Queensland. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 49th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Orford, Lancashire, England. , 10 November 1887 |
| Home Town: | Atherton, Tablelands, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Died: | Atherton, Queensland, Australia, January 1974, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Atherton Rockley Road Cemetery |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Jun 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2870, 49th Infantry Battalion, Place of Enlistment, Cairns, Queensland. | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 2870, 49th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Marathon embarkation_ship_number: A74 public_note: '' | |
| 27 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 2870, 49th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Marathon, Brisbane | |
| 18 Jun 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2870, 49th Infantry Battalion, Gun Shot Wound to the leg. | |
| 29 Oct 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2870, 49th Infantry Battalion, Reported Killed in Action, found Wounded. |
Private Harry Bowcock.
Private Harry Bowcock (S/No 2870A) 49th Btn AIF, enlisted on 7 October 1916. Harry was born in Orford, Lancashire in 1887 and migrated to Australia in 1912 on the Orsova, arriving in Sydney on 23 May 1912. Before enlisting, Harry was a labourer at Selwyn, near Cloncurry, and a labourer and butcher at Saltmere, Mossman.
Harry embarked on the troop ship Marathon on 27 October 1916, arriving in Plymouth UK on 9 January 1917. He was posted to Étaples, France in May 1917 before heading to the frontlines where he was wounded in action at Messines on 7 June 1917 and hospitalised for six weeks. He was incorrectly reported as ‘killed in action’ at Westhoek Ridge, Belgium on 19 October 1917 although this was changed to ‘wounded’ a few days later. From 26 February 1919 to 26 August 1919 he undertook general engineering training at Stockton Heath near Warrington UK. On 7 August 1919 Harry, 31 years old, married Eva Mary Dunbavand, 27 years old. After several months leave ‘pending a family ship’ Harry and Eva sailed to Australia on the Port Napier on 21 December 1919. Harry was discharged on 29 March 1920 after disembarking on 10 Feb 1920.
By 1925 Harry and Eva had settled at Dawson Road, Atherton on a farm allotted under the soldier resettlement scheme. He never spoke about the terrible things witnessed in the trenches or complained of the debilitating effects of mustard gas and a shrapnel wound that stayed with him for the rest of his life. Harry died in January 1974 and is buried in Rockley Road Cemetery, Atherton.
Courtesy of The Tablelands Regional Council, Roads of Remembrance.
Submitted 2 April 2021 by Lynette Turner
Click images to start slideshow.