Lionel Douglas Bowen was born January 24, 1895 to Henry and Katie Bowen of Orono. Like Glanville, Bowen also attended the Lockhart School SS#9. Upon completion of school, Bowen, along with his brother, Ernest, moved west. He was living in Winnipeg when he signed his attestation papers on January 20, 1916. He was assigned to the 61st Overseas Battalion (Winnipeg) of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. The main training camp and gathering point for the CEF was located in Valcartier, and it is thought that that after receiving local training, he would have been sent there.
On April 2, 1916 Bowen’s unit embarked from Halifax, arriving at a training base in Kent on April 12. On July 7, the 61st was absorbed into the 11th Reserve Battalion, providing reinforcements to active Canadian battalions in France and Belgium. On July 17, he was transferred to the 16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish) CEF, joining them on the field on July 31 in the Battle of the Somme. The unit was tasked with taking the Thievpal Ridge between the towns of Courcellette and Thievpal, and while here, on September 7, Bowen received a gunshot wound which severely disabled his left shoulder and arm. Undergoing initial treatment at the #3 Canadian Hospital in Camiers, France he was later transferred to a military hospital in Hammersmith, England and then the Canadian Convalescent Hospital in Bromley. After being discharged, he was sent to the Shoreham Military Camp, a training division, where Bowen received training to become a trainer.
In May, 1917 he was transferred to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps, which was a permanent brigade, established to support infantry units. Bowen returned to France as part of the 1st Canadian Machine Gun Brigade on December 19, 1917. On April 4, 1918, he received a shrapnel wound again to his left arm. Following treatment of the wound, he was back in the field by May 18, 1918.
Bowen suffered an abdominal gunshot wound on Oct 1, 1918, just weeks before the signing of the Armistice, this time succumbing to his injuries. Bowen was only 23 years of age.
Lionel Bowen’s name is inscribed on both the Orono Cenotaph and the Orono Cemetery Gates. The banner in his honour was also sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, Newcastle Council.
Courtesy of the Orono Weekly Times with special credit to Carol-Ann Oster
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