Private
Bowden, Charles Cecil
Unit
2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion (Eastern Ontario)
Branch
Infantry
Service Component
Canadian Expeditionary Force
Service Number
636860
birth
1896/12/22
Belleville, Ontario, Canada
death
1917/05/12
France
grave
Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Vimy Ridge, France
Gender
Male
Charles Cecil Bowden was born in Belleville, Ontario, on 22 December 1896.
Bowden was working as a grocery clerk when he enlisted in the 155th Canadian Infantry Battalion in Belleville, on 18 March 1916. He sailed to England with his unit on SS Northland on 18 October 1916 and was appointed acting lance corporal the same day. After arriving at Camp Bramshott, a Canadian military facility in Hampshire, Bowden requested to revert to the rank of private, so that he could proceed to France. His request granted, he was transferred to the 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion (Eastern Ontario) and joined the unit in France on 9 December 1916.
On 27 February 1917, Bowden was hospitalized at No. 7 General Hospital in Saint-Omer, France, suffering from mumps. He returned to the 2nd Battalion on 20 March 1917.
On 3 May 1917, Bowden was reported wounded during the Battle of Fresnoy. Nine days later, on 12 May 1917, the report was changed to wounded and missing. On 28 January 1918, Canadian military authorities declared that Bowden, who was still missing, was presumed to have died on or after 3 May 1917.
Charles Cecil Bowden is commemorated on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, on Vimy Ridge, in France.
