STOWELL, Arthur Percy
(Service number 6/3483)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | Unknown | Place of Birth |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Freezing works, Pareora, NZ | ||
| Occupation | |||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | Mrs L Stowell (mother) Pareora, Canterbury | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | 8th reinforcements | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Canterbury Infantry Battalion | ||
| Date | 13 November 1915 | ||
| Transport | HMNZT 35, 36 Willochra, Tofua | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 6 June 1917 | Age | 22 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Belgium | ||
| Cause | died of wounds | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Underhill Farm Cemeterym Comines-Warneton, Hainaut, Belgium | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Pareora East School War Memorial (as P (Percy) Stowell), Pareora East School War Memorial | ||
Biographical Notes
Arthur Stowell was a tally clerk at Pareora Freezing Works when he enlisted on 26 August 1915. He gave his last employer as W. Watkins, foreman butcher of Pareora Freezing Works and his next of kin as his mother Louise Stowell of Pareora near Timaru. He was born at Springbrook on 27 August 1894, so was just one day short of his 21st birthday, and had served in the territorials. He was 5ft 9in tall, weighed 147lbs, had fair hair, brown eyes and brown hair. He passed all physical tests. He embarked with the 8th Reinforcements of the Canterbury Infantry Battalion on 13 November 1915, sailing from Wellington to Suez.
Private Stowell’s army record states that he took part in the Egyptian campaign of 1915-16 and was then on the Western Front 1916-17. He was hospitalised with German measles in France in April 1917. He spent eight days in hospital before being transferred back to base depot. Two months later he died of wounds received in action on 6 June 1917 – that he was brought in dead to an Advanced Dressing Station of the 3rd NZ Field Ambulance in the field in Belgium. He was buried at Underhill Farm, Comines-Warneton, Hainaut, Belgium.
The Timaru Herald of 25 June 1917 stated: “Quite a gloom was cast over Pareora when the news came through that Private A.P. Stowell had died of wounds received in action. Private Stowell, who was the youngest son of Mrs H. Stowell, Pareora, was a most popular boy and highly esteemed by all who knew him. His mother has received messages of sympathy from all parts of the Dominion. Private Stowell left with the 8th Reinforcements, went through the Somme push last yer, and it is surmised that he fell in the last great fight when the New Zealanders made such a glorious name for themselves and so many brave men made the supreme sacrifice. Private Stowell was 22 years of age.”
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [29 December 2016]; Timaru Herald 25 June 1917
External Links
Related Documents
Researched and Written by
Liz Shea (SC branch NZSG); Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.