William Bowen - Welsh Regiment, 3rd (Reserve) Battalion

Second Lieutenant William Bowen - Welsh Regiment, 3^rd (Reserve) Battalion
(Attached 15^th (Service) Battalion (Carmarthenshire))

Birth and Family Background

William Bowen was born in 1888 at Loughor. He was the son of Henry Bowen and Mary Coward.

1891 Census

At the time of the 1891 Census, the family were residing at 23 Sterry Road, Loughor. Carmarthenshire-born Henry Bowen (29) was employed as a Railway Signalman with the Great Western Railway, and his wife Mary (32) managed the household. Their children were John H. J. (4), William (3), and Frederick P. (1). Two boarders, Thomas Harris (22) and Edward Jones (25), were also living at the address.

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family had moved to 24 Sea View, Swansea. Henry, now 39, was working as a Railway Inspector, while Mary was 42. Their children were John (14), described as a labourer and clerk; William (13); Frederick (11); Samuel (5); and Olive M. (3).

1911 Census

In the 1911 Census, the family were residing at 9 Milton Terrace, Swansea. Henry, aged 49, continued as a Railway Inspector, and Mary was 52. The children at home were William (23), employed as a Railway Clerk; Frederick Percival (21), a Railway Policeman; Samuel Hubert (15), a Railway Messenger; and Olive May (13), who was still attending school. Also present in the household was Mary’s widowed father, John Coward (79).

Military Service and Death

William was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Welsh Regiment, 3^rd (Reserve) Battalion, and was later attached to the 15^th (Service) Battalion (Carmarthenshire).

On 30^th August 1918, during the Allied Hundred Days Offensive, the 15th Battalion was engaged in renewed advances across the Somme battlefield as British forces pressed forward against retreating German troops. Although the war had entered a more mobile phase, the fighting remained intense. The battalion was involved in attacks on prepared rearguard positions, clearing strongpoints, and consolidating newly captured ground under heavy machine-gun and artillery fire. Casualties were frequent as officers and men moved across exposed terrain and encountered determined resistance. It was during this period of offensive operations that William was wounded.

Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects

The Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects record that he died of wounds on 30^th August 1918, reflecting the heavy cost paid by junior officers leading their men during the final months of the war.

Burial

Second Lieutenant William Bowen is buried at Fienvilliers British Cemetery, Somme, France, a cemetery associated with casualties from the later stages of the 1918 Allied advance.