George Bowden

Deck Hand George Bowden – HMT Longset

Early Life

George Bowden was born in 1871 in St. Erme, Cornwall, the son of George Bowden and Jane May.

1871 Census

At the time of the 1871 Census, George was just a month old, living with his family at 63 Carland, St. Erme. His parents, George and Jane, were both 35, and their children were Frederick, 8; James H., 7; Eldsea, 5; John, 1; and baby George.

1881 Census

By the 1881 Census, the family was at 2 Mitchell, St. Erme. George senior, now 45, worked as a lead miner, and Jane was also 45. Their children included Fred, 19, a mason; James H., 17, an agricultural labourer; John, 11; George, 10; and Emily, 4, all attending school.

1891 Census 

In the 1891 Census, George, then 20 years old, was recorded as a lodger at 73 Trelowarren Street, Camborne, Cornwall, employed as a mason.

Army and Navy Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers

Later records in the Army and Navy Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers place George in service, though details of his naval career remain sparse.

HMT Longset as a Minesweeper

Originally built as a trawler, HMT Longset was one of many civilian vessels requisitioned by the Royal Navy during the First World War. Converted into a minesweeper, she was tasked with patrolling coastal waters to detect and remove mines laid by German U-boats.

These vessels, often crewed by men from fishing communities, carried immense risk. Minesweeping required slow, deliberate manoeuvres in waters known to be seeded with explosives. Losses among these auxiliary ships were high, and their work, though less publicised than that of the battle fleet, was essential to keeping Britain’s ports and shipping lanes open.

The Sinking of HMT Longset

On 6^th February 1917, the hired trawler HMT Longset struck a mine laid by the German submarine UC-46, just two miles southeast of the Breaksea Lightvessel wreck. The vessel was lost with eight men, whose names are recorded as:

• George Bowden, 53
• Edmund William Bullock, 39, son of Edmund and Elizabeth Bullock, of Swansea; husband of Lily Bullock, of 24 Kilvey Terrace
• R. Bush
• William Hague, 29
• Alfred Kinrade, 21
• Thomas Frederick Muir, 39
• Walter Frederick William Poole, 21
• Herbert Henry Sanders, 18, son of Henry and Elizabeth Sanders, of Oak Cottage, Norton, West Cross

Burial

South Wales Daily Post

The funeral of George Bowden was described by the South Wales Daily Post as an “impressive funeral.” His body was returned to Swansea and interred at Danygraig Cemetery with full honours.

The coffin, draped with the Union Jack, was borne to the graveside by naval comrades, accompanied by a strong contingent of fellow seamen and local mourners. Members of the community lined the route to the cemetery in respect, while floral tributes from family, friends, and shipmates adorned the coffin.

At the graveside, the solemn service was conducted with dignity, followed by the traditional naval rites. A firing party discharged volleys over the grave, and the “Last Post” was sounded, marking his final farewell.

The scene reflected both the personal grief of his family and the collective mourning of Swansea, which had once again lost one of its own to the war at sea. His grave, standing among many others at Danygraig, became a symbol of the dangers faced daily by those who sailed in Britain’s coastal waters during the First World War.

Legacy

George Bowden
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

George Bowden’s death, along with his shipmates, highlights the peril faced by crews of auxiliary naval vessels during the First World War. Mines, laid in coastal waters by German U-boats, claimed countless lives close to home.

For Swansea, the burial of George Bowden at Danygraig linked him to a growing naval story within the cemetery. Earlier burials included Skipper Henry Hills of the trawler Roche Castle, who became the first naval burial at Danygraig in 1915, and Able Seaman William Bowling, the last burial of 1916, whose service at the shore establishment HMS Victory illustrates another facet of naval life.

Together, these graves chart the evolution of the naval war as seen from Swansea: from trawlers pressed into service as minesweepers, to shore-based personnel, to the losses at sea close to home. Bowden’s grave, alongside those of his comrades in the Longset disaster, reminds us of the high price paid by the men who defended Britain’s shores, even within sight of land.