GOWANS, Robert
(Service number 28871)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 06/05/1896 | Place of Birth | Fauldhouse, Scotland |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Rhodes Street, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Carpenter | ||
| Previous Military Experience | 8th South Canterbury Mounted Rifles | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Peter GOWANS (father), Rhodes Street, Timaru; 128 Cox Street, Ashburton | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 18th Reinforcements, J Company | ||
| Date | 11 October 1916 | ||
| Transport | Tofua | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Plymouth Devon, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Infantry Regiment | ||
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 January 1958 | Age | 61 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Nelson or Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | |||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Robert Gowans was born on 6 May 1896 at Fauldhouse, Scotland, the older son of Peter and Janet (née Wilson) Gowans. In 1901 Robert was at home with his parents and four sisters (two older and two younger) at West Calder, Midlothian, Scotland. Agnes, born in 1900, entered Timaru Main School from Scotland in February 1912. At least four younger children came with the family to New Zealand, and another was born here in March 1914. Robert Gowans enlisted at the Timaru Defence Office in June 1916. Private Gowans and five other soldiers returned to Timaru by the express from Christchurch in late April 1919. The Mayor extended a cordial welcome to them, saying that they (the citizens) were “delighted to have the privilege of welcoming them home after their gallant work abroad, an d to acknowledge what they had done for the Empire.” Robert Gowans married Catherine Armstrong Stevenson in 1923. He died on 6 Janaury 1958 at Nelson or Christchurch. Catherine died in 1980.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [10 September 2020]; 1901 Scottish census (ancestry.com.au) [10 September 2020]; Timaru Herald, 7 June 1916, 28 April 1919 (Papers Past) [10 September 2020]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.