‘B’ Battery, 123rd Brigade, Royal field Artillery
Clifford Lewis Gower was born at Fretherne, near Saul, Gloucestershire in the last quarter of 1894. He was the son of Lewis F Gower, a shipwright and his wife Theresa Eliza.. The couple had eight children, seven of whom were surviving at the time of the 1911 Census. The family lived at Dunstalls Farm, Fretherne.
Clifford was aged 16 at the time of the 1911 Census and his occupation was described as a ‘moulder’. The Cheltenham Chronicle of 11 May 1912 carried a report that Clifford Gower, foundry hand, was fined ten shillings for riding a bicycle without lights at Whitminster Petty Sessions.
Unfortunately little or nothing is known about his military service but he appears to have enlisted in Gloucester and the absence of any Medal Index Card perhaps indicates that he did not serve abroad. His Service record was probably destroyed by enemy action in 1940 and there is no evidence of any Pension record or the issuance of a Silver War Badge, indicating discharge due to disablement.
The Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects, held at the National Army Museum states that he died aged 20 on 26 July 1915 at Tidworth Military Hospital due to appendicitis, no doubt whilst undergoing training.
No report of his funeral in a local newspaper has yet been discovered. Gunner Gower was brought back to Fretherne for burial, on 30 July 1915, where a standard CWGC headstone now marks his grave in the parish churchyard. He is commemorated on the Fretherne War Memorial.
Researched by Graham Adams 15 January 2021 (revised)