Melville Bowen
Memorial: South Gloucestershire war dead not on a local memorial
Regiment: Royal Artillery
Medals: 1939–45 Star, War Medal 1939–1945
Rank and number: Gunner/Driver 1112360
Parents: James and Jessie Bowen
Home address: 37 Congyre Road, Filton, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Airplane worker
Date of birth: 18/01/1917
Place of birth: Tonypandy, Glamorganshire
Date of death: 31/01/1944
Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Taukkyun War Cemetery, Myanmar. Not commemorated on a local memorial
Age: 26
Further information:
Melville was born at Tonypandy, Glamorganshire, the son of a former miner who later became a storeman at Filton Aerodrome. Melville was the eldest of two children and both he, and his younger sister Audrey also worked at Filton Aerodrome.
At the start of the war, Melville's regiment (the 6 Medium Regiment) was stationed at Delhi India until 1940, then it fought alongside Indian divisions firstly in Iraq in 1941, then in Burma in 1943. Melville was killed in action during the Japanese retreat from Akyab (now Sitwe) Island which was the site of a Japanese airfield during the occupation. Melville was initially buried at Akyab War Cemetery and reburied at Taukkyun in 1952.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
http://nigelef.tripod.com/regtsumm.htm