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Major Harold Bowser an Officer in the Natal Rangers and 171st Siege Bty FGA 8 hours 51 minutes ago #102431

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Howard Arthur Bowser

D.S.O., Croix de Guerre with Palms, 2 X M.I.D.

Lieutenant, Central South African Railways Service Company, Natal Rangers - Bambatha Rebellion
Major and Officer Commanding, 171st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery – WWI

- Distinguished Service Order GVR – unnamed as awarded.
- Natal Rebellion Medal (Bambatha) clasp 1906 to Lt. H.A. Bowser, Natal Rangers.
- 1914-15 Star to LIEUT. H.A. BOWSER, R.G.A.
- British War Medal to MAJOR H.A. BOWSER.
- Victory Medal with M.I.D. Oakleaf to MAJOR H.A. BOWSER.
- Croix de Guerre with Palm Leaves – unnamed as awarded.


Howard Bowser was born in Hackney, London on 19 June 1884 the son of Wilfred Arthur Bowser, an Actuary for a Life Insurance company, and his wife Emma Salmon Meacock.

Our first glimpse of a young Howard comes courtesy of the 1891 England census where, at the age of 6, he was visiting his maternal grandfather, Richard Salmon, a farmer in Rowton, Cheshire. Other than aunts and cousins he appears to have been the only Bowser there at the time.


From the 1908 SA Who's Who

From 1895 until 1900 he was, for his general education, a pupil at the City of London School, a leading academic institution of learning in the Victorian age. The school archives confirm that he won the Form Prize for Scripture at the Midsummer Prize Day in November 1898. He was, in his last year, 1899, in Room 12, Mr Wooding’s class.

At the time of the 1901 England census, he was back under the paternal roof at 46 Amhurst Park, Hackney, London. Elder sisters Emma 25 and a School Teacher and Annie, 20 and a Music Teacher were with the 16 year old Howard who, at the age of 16 was already described as an Engineer/Fitter. This would be in keeping with the direction his further education was to take.

From 1900 until 1903 he attended the East London Technical College for the technical side of his education. This was followed, for the next two years, until 1905, by private tutoring, specialising in Applied Mechanics, Machine Drawing and Design, Stea, Statics and Dynamics. All the while he had been apprenticed, since the age of 15 ½ with the North London Railway Company, Bow Road Works.

In 1904 he was an articled pupil in the drawing office, electrical and telegraph department, pattern shop and test room. It could be said that Bowser was provided with more than an average opportunity to learn the ropes of engineering.

Once he had acquired all these skills it was time to put them to use and, from March until July 1905 he was employed as a Draughtsman with the North London Railway. But Bowser had an adventurous spirit – spreading his proverbial wings he took passage to South Africa where he obtained employment with the Central South African Railways – an amalgamation of the Natal, Cape and Central railways which had operated independently during the recent Anglo Boer War. He was to spend the next 3 and a half years with them, initially as a Millwright and then as a Draughtsman in the Locomotive Department in Pretoria. His emoluments were an annual salary of £48 and an annual allowance of £48.

It was whilst thus employed that he had his first taste of military action. The finances of the Colony of Natal just after the conclusion of hostilities were in a parlous state. The Colonial Government were at their wits end as to where additional revenue would come from until it was decided that a Hut or Poll Tax of £1 would be levied on all males in the Colony over the age of 18. Magistrates were tasked with the collection of this tax which was received passively among the black population until a minor chief, Bambatha, decided to incite opposition to the implementation thereof.



He set about visiting native chiefs to whip up support and, ere long, the protests turned into violent rebellious confrontation. The Natal Government opted not to enlist Imperial support and adopted a “go it alone” policy, electing to suppress the rebellion with the use of local Militia. It soon became apparent that they could use some help and a body of men, the Natal Rangers was called into being for this purpose on 10 May 1906 – raised because Ministers considered it against the interests of the Colony to keep the Militia Reserves in the field for any length of time. A considerable saving was also effected through raising the corps, some 800 strong, owing to the pay of the men being at lower rates. Recruiting took place chiefly in Johannesburg and Durban. As regards that done in Johannesburg, the Colony was most fortunate in securing the assistance of the Transvaal Commandant of Volunteers who proved to be of great assistance.

But what role was Bowser to play in this conflict? According to the 1908 South Africa Who’s Who he had been in the K.R. Volunteers in London for 6 years and, now employed by the CSAR, was a member of their Central South African Railways Rifle Volunteers. This was enough to earn him a commission in the CSAR Service Company which was attached to the Natal Rangers for the duration of the Rebellion. On 4 June 1906 the Natal Rangers (seven companies, with Maxims and signallers), under Lieut. -Col. J. Dick, D.L.I., arrived at Nomangci camp in Zululand. Their arrival was most opportune and they soon proved to be a valuable addition to the forces.

The Natal Rangers were to participate in the battle at Mome Gorge, deep in the forests of Nkandla in Zululand where Bambatha and his allies had fled. I called it a battle but it was, in reality a massacre, as the Militia were positioned all round the rim of the Gorge and opened a galling fire, both with artillery and maxim guns, into the massed numbers of Zulus hiding in the undergrowth below. Over 500 were killed in the space of 15 minutes, including Bambatha himself whose head was removed from his body and brought out to show the Zulus that he was indeed dead and not impervious to the white man’s bullets as foretold by the sangomas (witch doctors). The Natal Rangers, with their maxims, were positioned on the eastern side of the Gorge.


Arrow pointing to where the Natal Rangers were positioned

The rebellion effectively petered out with its main protagonists dead or captured. There was still the odd flicker of trouble but this was speedily dealt with as and when it arose. And so it happened that, by the 12th September 1906, there being no recrudescence of the Rebellion, Royston's Horse, Natal Carbineers, Natal Native Horse, Natal Rangers and details had been disbanded. Such work, e.g. arresting criminals, as then remained to be done was within the power of the ordinary police to perform.

His work done Bowser headed back to his office in the Transvaal, later to receive the Natal Rebellion Medal with 1906 clasp. By 1908 he had risen to Acting Chief Draughtsman in the Works Drawing Office of the C.S.A.R. and his future seemed assured. But the wanderlust had taken hold of Bowser once more – he set sail for Havana in Cuba where he was employed as a Draughtsman on the Western Railway of Havana Ltd. from August to December 1909. Promotion to Assistant Locomotive Superintendent followed, a role he filled from 1 January to 20 July 1910.

After a short hiatus he packed his bags and moved to Argentina where he was employed as Engineer by the newly-formed Schmidt Superheating Company Ltd. with effect from 17 October 1910. (This company had a Locomotive Department headquartered at 28 Victoria Street, Westminster.) The very next day he submitted his application for membership and official accreditation as a Mechanical Engineer. A keen Free Mason, he was a member of the Buenos Ayres “Star of the South Lodge” which he joined in May 1913.

He was still in the Argentine when news broke of war between Great Britian and Germany on 4 August 1914. Having arranged his affairs he immediately set sail for the United Kingdom aboard the “Darro” from Buenos Ayres arriving in Liverpool on 22 October 1914. (He appears on a list of volunteers from Argentina.) His UK address he provided as the Royal Societies Club, London.

This war was going to be substantially different to the last one in which he was involved. The London Gazette of 7 December 1914 announced his appointment as a temporary Lieutenant with the Royal Garrison Artillery and, after a period of orientation and training, he was posted to France with the 7th Siege Battery on 7 February 1915. Rapid promotion followed with the London Gazette of 1 May 1917 not only informing its readers that Bowser was now a Temporary Major, Royal Artillery, but had also been honoured with the award of the French Croix de Guerre for distinguished services rendered during the course of the campaign.

At the beginning of 1918 Bowser was posted as Officer Commanding to the 171st Siege Battery. Following the disastrous Battle of Caporetto on the Italian Front, Second Army HQ and several of its sub-formations were sent to reinforce the Italian Army; 171st Siege Battery was selected as part of these reinforcements. It left by rail with 15th HAG on 15 December and detrained in Italy three days later.

By 6 January 1918, 15th HAG had moved up to support the First Italian Army in the north, but was not involved in any important operations during the winter. 171st Siege Bty was transferred to the command of 94th HAG (under Italian command) on 12 January 1918, and back to 15th HAG on 30 March 1918. In February 1918 the HAGs became permanent RGA brigades.

A planned Allied offensive meant the repositioning of most of the British troops in Italy, and left 15th HAG spread out between the Brenta river and the Asiago Plateau where it had been since 6 January. However, it was then brought under the command of XIV British Corps in April and the rest of the British heavy artillery concentrated with it. Finding level sites for the howitzers was difficult in the wooded mountainous terrain, as was ammunition supply and command control. However, the planned Allied offensive was postponed when it became clear that the Austrians were planning their own offensive astride the Brenta.

The howitzers were quietly moved into position on the nights of 11/12 and 14/15 June, and were ready when the Austrian bombardment began at dawn on 15 June (the Second Battle of the Piave River). Despite some initial Austrian gains, 48th (South Midland) Division held its main positions. 15th Heavy Artillery Group was assigned to CB fire and the heavy howitzers systematically destroyed the Austrian guns on the Asiago, notwithstanding poor visibility early on (Royal Air Force observation aircraft were able to direct the fire later). The Austrian offensive failed all along the front.



Preparations then began for the final battle on the Italian Front, the stunning success of the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. The British troops in the Asiago sector were relieved and moved to join the British-commanded Tenth Italian Army near Treviso. The heavy guns were moved silently into position and did not open fire during the preliminary attacks on 23 October. The main British assault crossed the River Piave on 27 October, with Bowser’s heavy guns engaging all known Austrian gun positions and providing a protective barrage on either flank. A bridge was ready by 29 October and the heavy guns crossed the river. By 1 November the Austrian army had collapsed and the pursuing British troops had left their heavy guns far in the rear.

Austria signed the Armistice of Villa Giusti on 3 November, ending the war in Italy. 171st Siege Battery was disbanded in 1919. This coincided with the announcement in the London Gazette of 1 January 1919 that Major Bowser had been rewarded for distinguished service in connection with military operations in Italy, with the Distinguished Service Order.

The war over and his job done with aplomb, Bowser wasted no time in boarding the “Meteor” at Southampton bound for the Argentine on 31 July 1919. He was to spend many more years employed in that country as an Engineer but, aside from work, there was also time for romance. At Buenos Ayres, in the Protestant Cathedral of St John on 29 October 1921 he wed 24 year old Leonor Elisa Philipps. Her address was stated to be Chile and he was 37 years old at the time.

On 27 September 1922 he arrived at Liverpool, ex the “Herschel”, for a visit. His address whilst in England was the Argentine Club in Piccadilly, London – the same address his medals were posted to. He was back in London, ex “Kaiser-I-Hind” for another visit on 9 January 1925 staying, once more at the Argentine Club. Obviously flourishing in South America, he sailed 1st Class on both occasions.

He would appear to have revisited his old stomping ground, Natal, in 1928. The manifest for the “Windsor Castle” which docked in England on 15 October of that year states that Bowser, now a Manager, sailed from Natal with 35 Ashburnham Mansions, S.W.10 being his intended place of residence. Interestingly, the additional information is provided that India was his permanent place of residence. Perhaps he had made the long haul from South America to Asia?

The London Gazette of 29 June 1934 carried the news that Major Bowser, D.S.O., having attained the age limit of liability to recall, now ceased to belong to the Reserve of Officers. He had reached the “age limit” of 50.

Not much more is known about Howard Bowser. The records of the St Marylebone Cemetery in Finchley, London, under its internments for Monday, 29th January 1945, contains the following entry:

“Howard Arthur Bowser, age 59, 21c Shepherd’s Hill, Highgate, N.6” – this, after a life of adventure, was to be his final resting place.

Acknowledgments:
- City of London School online Archives
- FMP & Ancestry for Gazette entries, shipping manifests, census, birth and death data.
- South Africa Who’s Who of 1908
- South Africa Railways & Harbours Magazine.
- History of the Zulu Rebellion by J Stuart







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