Charles Bowden Rowe – Royal Navy, H.M.L.S.T. 162

Able Seaman Charles Bowden Rowe – Royal Navy, H.M.L.S.T. 162

Charles Bowden Rowe, born in 1920 in Swansea, was the son of Albert Bowden Rowe and Laura Violet Mills, who married in 1913 in Cardiff. His early civilian life is sparsely recorded, but the surviving documents trace a clear path from merchant service into wartime naval duty.

1939 Register

Early Life and Civilian Record

Charles does not appear on the 1921 Census, but he is listed in the 1939 Register, where he is recorded as “Discharged 14 Aug 39 S.S. Anaons Mican Nite Marine Steward”, residing at 101 Pantycelyn Road, Swansea. This entry suggests that he had been serving in the merchant marine before leaving that post shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War.

 

H.M.L.S.T. 162

Service with the Royal Navy

Charles went on to serve as an Able Seaman with the Royal Navy, posted aboard H.M.L.S.T. 162, one of the Landing Ship, Tank vessels used extensively for amphibious operations, supply duties, and coastal transport throughout the war. His role placed him within the demanding and often hazardous world of naval logistics and landing craft operations.

Death at R.N.A. Hospital, Kilmacolm

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

Charles Bowden Rowe
Oystermouth Cemetery, Mumbles
credit - findagrave

According to the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, Charles died on 5 April 1946 at the Royal Naval Auxiliary Hospital, Kilmacolm, from pylephlebitis following an appendix abscess. His death occurred less than a year after the end of the war, at a time when many servicemen were still recovering from the physical toll of wartime duties.

Burial at Oystermouth Cemetery

Charles’s body was brought home to Swansea, where he was laid to rest at Oystermouth Cemetery, joining the long roll of local naval personnel whose service extended beyond the battlefield and into the difficult post‑war months.