| SOLDIER DETAILS:
|
SOLDIER SUMMARY:
| Private Gowing reports his next of kin as his
son, under the care of the Children's Aid Society in Acton
(Halton), Ontario. He had served with the
20th Regiment Halton Rifles, but was discharged as medically
unfit in January 1915 (perhaps "bad feet", as noted in
medical records).
He attested at age 34 to the 37th Infantry Battalion
on May 26, 1915, at Camp Niagara. Prior to having a service
number assigned he was transferred to the 17th Battalion on June
20, 1915. The 17th was subsequently broken up in
England to provide for reserves.
The service records indicated that Private Gowing was taken
on strength to the 15th Battalion (1st Division, 3rd Infantry
Brigade) in France on July 16, 1915. At Festubert, France he received serious gun shot
wounds to the head on August 21, 1915, was admitted to the #3
Canadian Field Ambulance, where he died. Two casualties were reported
that day in the war diary by sniping, suggesting that
Private Gowing stuck his head a little too high above the
parapet. Otherwise, the enemy on the front were reported as
"quiet".
The allies were deadlocked on the western front during the
summer of 1915 and Nicholson reports "a strange tranquility
persisted". Sniping was an issue. |
|
|
The soldier pages contain information
that is available from a number of resources. The following hyperlinks
are active where the information is available:
The summary of the service is taken from
the soldier's service records, if they were available from Library and
Archives Canada. A complete copy of the service record is
available in electronic and paper format in the Alex
Cooke Memorial Archives at the Milton Historical Society.
Using that summary, combined with the key references, a summary of the
events leading up to the death of the soldier has been prepared.
The research information available is as noted on the Canadian
Expeditionary Force Study Group web site Matrix
Project as well as in the Library and Archives Canada On-Line
War Diaries.
A summary of all the soldiers is
contained on the Web Blog "Great
War Soldiers of Milton, Ontario CANADA". Please also
be sure to purchase your own copy of "Milton
Remembers World War I - The Men and Women We Never Knew" by
John Challinor II and Jim Dills, edited by Ken Lamb. |
|
