William Gladstone Bowden

Able Seaman William Gladstone Bowden – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Nelson Battalion

Not all sailors served at sea during the First World War. Some, like William Gladstone Bowden, fought and died on land as part of the Royal Naval Division — men of the Royal Navy and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve who served as infantry alongside the British Army in the trenches of the Western Front.

Early Life

William Gladstone Bowden

William Gladstone Bowden was born in 1899 at St George, Gloucestershire, the son of James Bowden and Alice Bowden, who were married in 1894 at Bedwellty, Monmouthshire.

1901 Census

According to the 1901 Census, the Bowden family were living at 15 Forest Avenue, St Mary Fishponds, Bristol. James (24) worked as a Motorman, and Alice (24) managed the home. Their children were James A. (4), William G. (2), and Josiah H. (1). Also living with them was Louise Field (25), a Laundress, who boarded with the family.

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 6 Bellevue Terrace, Thistleboon, Mumbles. James (34) was employed as a Chauffeur, and Alice (34) cared for their growing family. Their children were Albert (14), an Errand Boy; William (12) and Josiah (11), both attending school; and the younger children George (2) and Phyllis (5 months). Also visiting the family at the time was Georgina Love (34).

Military Service

When war broke out, William Gladstone Bowden joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) and was posted to the Nelson Battalion of the Royal Naval Division (R.N. Division).

Formed in 1914 by Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, the Royal Naval Division was composed of naval personnel who could not be deployed at sea due to a shortage of ships. Instead, they were trained and organised as infantry under naval command, while retaining their naval ranks and traditions.

The Division included several battalions named after famous admirals — Nelson, Drake, Howe, and Hood — each drawn largely from the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. These units first fought at Gallipoli in 1915 before being redeployed to the Western Front, where they became part of the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division under Army command.

The Royal Naval Division at the Somme

By 1916, the Royal Naval Division had joined the Somme campaign, taking part in its final phase — the Battle of the Ancre (13–18 November 1916). Fighting alongside regular army divisions, the men of the Nelson, Howe, Drake, and Hood Battalions attacked the German lines north of the River Ancre in appalling winter conditions.

The Division captured several key objectives, including Beaucourt-sur-l’Ancre, in one of the most successful operations of the late Somme fighting. However, the victory came at a heavy cost — over 3,000 casualties in just a few days. Among the wounded was Able Seaman William Gladstone Bowden, who succumbed to his injuries soon after.

Death

Able Seaman William Gladstone Bowden died of his wounds on 17^th November 1916, aged just 18, during the final days of the Battle of the Ancre. His death came at the close of the Somme Offensive — a campaign that had lasted nearly five months and cost over a million casualties.

Burial

William Gladstone Bowden
Contay British Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Able Seaman William Gladstone Bowden is buried at Contay British Cemetery, Somme, France. The cemetery was used by casualty clearing stations positioned behind the front lines during the Somme battles of 1916 and contains the graves of many who died from wounds received in that campaign.

Legacy

Able Seaman William Gladstone Bowden was only 18 years old when he died — one of the youngest from Mumbles to fall during the First World War. Although trained as a sailor, he fought and fell as a soldier, exemplifying the adaptability and courage of the men of the Royal Naval Division.

His name is commemorated on the memorial of the former Methodist Church, Mumbles, alongside those of other local men who gave their lives in the Great War.

Through this memorial, and in the records of his battalion, William Gladstone Bowden is remembered with honour — a sailor who fought on land, representing the enduring naval spirit that reached even into the mud and trenches of the Western Front.