Informations sur naissance

Année de naissance:
1880
Lieu de naissance:
St Issells, Saundersfoot Pembrokeshire, Pays de Galles, Royaume-Uni

Informations générales

Profession:
Voorman spoorwegarbeider

Informations service militaire

Pays:
Pays de Galles, Royaume-Uni
Force armée:
British Expeditionary Force
Rang:
Private
Numéro de service:
307166
Incorporation nom de lieu:
Narberth, Pembrokeshire, Pays de Galles, Royaume-Uni
Unités:
 —  Lancashire Fusiliers, 2/8th Bn.  (Dernière unité connue)

Informations sur décès

Date de décès:
09/10/1917
Lieu de décès:
Deck Wood - Ehards Grund, Passchendaele, Belgique
Cause du décès:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Âge:
37

Mémorial

Tyne Cot Memorial
Panneau: 55

Distinctions et médailles 2

British War Medal
Médaille — 09/01/1920
Victory Medal
Médaille — 09/01/1920

Points d'intérêt 3

#1 Lieu de naissance
#2 Lieu d'enrôlement
#3 Lieu du décès (approximatif)

Mon histoire

Mansell Bowen was born in 1880 in St Issells, Pembrokeshire, Wales. He was the son of Richard and Mary Bowen and according to the 1911 Wales census he was employed as a railroad worker in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales before enlisting. By October 1917 Mansell served as a private in the Lancashire Fusiliers 2/8th Battalion, 197th Brigade, 66th Division and fought in the Battle of Poelcappelle, a stage in the Battle of Third Ypres.

On 9 October 1917 the 66th Division advanced with the 197th brigade on the right and the 198th. The attack of the 197th Brigade was carried by four battalions of the Lancashire Fusiliers and had two main objectives. They would first secure the area until after Augustus Wood and then they would try and capture a line running from Vienna Cottage to the hamlet of Haalen.

At 5.20 a.m. the 2/8th advanced behind the 3/5th Lancashire Fusiliers. Once the latter had consolidated the first objective around 7.50 a.m. the 2/8th and 2/6th continued the attack towards Passchendaele village itself. By 9.30 a.m. the second objective was in Allied hands and the 2/8th occupied a line of shell holes between Vienna Cottage and Deck Wood. Moments later the men repulsed a German counter-attack on their positions. In the afternoon a defensive flank was formed by the 148th brigade (49th Division) on the left, but this was mistaken by the men of the 197th Brigade for a withdrawal. A gap now emerged between both Brigades and the German artillery started shelling the exposed left flank of the Brigade at Haalen and Deck Wood. The men of the 66th Division then fell back and consolidated positions from Hillside Farm to Defy Crossing, where they repulsed another counter attack at 5.30 p.m.

The 2/8th Lancashire Fusiliers suffered heavy casualties on 9 October 1917. Thirty-three men were killed, 206 men were wounded and 143 men went missing. The high amount of missing fusiliers can be explained by the fact that the Battalion was forced to retreat, leaving many wounded and dead behind in No Man’s Land. Private Bowen was possibly one of the men left behind. The 37-year old was later declared killed in action. Mansell Bowen’s remains were not found or never identified. He therefore has no known grave and is remembered on Panel 55 of the Tyne Cot Memorial.

Fichiers 2

Sources 5

"Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., London, Uniform, 2018, pg. 120-122.
Sources utilisées
Ancestry
http://home.ancestry.co.uk/
Sources utilisées
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/842499/bowen,-mansell/
Sources utilisées
The Long, Long Trail
http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/
Sources utilisées
War Diary Lancashire Fusiliers, 2/8th Bn.
http://www.nmarchive.com/
Autre référence