McGOWAN, Herbert Edward
(Service number 6/4181)
| First Rank | Lieutenant | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 28 July 1870 | Place of Birth | Moeraki, Otago |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Willowbridge, South Canterbury | ||
| Occupation | Armourer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Married. Three children | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs H. E. McGOWAN (wife), Willowbridge, South Canterbury | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 11th Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Battalion, C Company | ||
| Date | 1 April 1916 | ||
| Transport | Tahiti or Maunganui | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
London Gazette, 1 January 1919
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 | 22 November 1950 | Age | 80 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Avondale | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Waikumete Cemetery, Auckland | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Herbert Edward McGowan was born on 28 July 1870 at Nelson, the eldest son of Edward McGowan and his first wife, Sarah Ann née Vickery. He married Margaret Davidson Cochrane on 28 June 1894 at Timaru. Herbet and Margaret had three children born and educated at Willowbridge – Herbert Stanley born in 1896, Margaret Evelyn born in 1898, and John Addinett born in 1903. When Herbert enlisted with the New Zealand Forces he was an armourer, residing at Willowbridge.
H. E. McGowan was awarded the MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) on 1 January 1919. He returned to New Zealand per the “Bhamo” (Draft 234), arriving in May 1919. Herbert and Margaret divorced in 1940. He died at Auckland while she died at Waimate. Ernest James McGowan, a younger brother of Herbert, served in the South African War. Lester Vickery McGowan, a nephew, served as a sergeant in World War Two.
Sources
New Zealand War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [27 January 2021]; NZ BDM Indexes (Departement of Internal Affairs) [27 January 2020]; Waikumete Cemetery burial record (Auckland Council) [27 January 2021]; Otago Daily Times, 10 April 1919 (Papers Past) [03 July 2025]
External Links
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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