John Timothy Bowler
Trooper · NZ #36701 · R2 Patrol
| Rank | Trooper |
|---|---|
| Service number | NZ #36701 |
| Patrol | R2 Patrol |
| Regiment | 2nd NZ Divisional Cavalry Regiment |
| Born | 1914-09-25 |
| Died | 1943-10-24 |
| POW / KIA | Killed in action — Levitha, 24 October 1943 |
| Record | https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C20929 |
What this roll records
CWGC record (2026): Trooper John Timothy Bowler, service no. 36701, New Zealand Armoured Corps, Div. Cavalry Regt., with the Long Range Desert Group recorded as his secondary unit. Died 24 October 1943, aged 29. He has no known grave and is COMMEMORATED ON THE ATHENS MEMORIAL, Greece — Face 12. Son of John Frederick and Margaret Agnes Bowler, of Napier, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. Source: Commonwealth War Graves Commission, https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2105665/john-timothy-bowler/
March 1942 roll (courtesy Tarek el Mahdy)
Killed in action, Levitha (Dodecanese), 24 October 1943. Source: Brendan O’Carroll.
New Zealand (A) Squadron, Levitha (24 Oct 1943): missing, presumed killed, 24 Oct 1943. Source: Roll of New Zealand (A) Squadron Casualties on Levitha, Brendan O’Carroll, "The Long Range Desert Group in the Aegean".
LRDG Roll of Honour (Aegean 1943): missing presumed killed 24.10.43, R2 Patrol. Source: Brendan O’Carroll, "The Long Range Desert Group in the Aegean" (Appendix III, LRDG Roll of Honour: The Aegean Operations 1943). (master previously recorded R1 Patrol).
NZ Roll of Honour (Appendix I): killed in action 24 October 1943.
The Kiwi Scorpions (Brendan O'Carroll): Tpr J. T. Bowler — shepherd; born Napier, 25 Sep 1914; killed in action, 24 Oct 1943.
Sting of the Scorpion (Brendan O'Carroll) — the assault on Levita: Levita: with Tpr D. A. Davison and a POW, volunteered to reach the landing place for water and to recover the Folboats; they never returned. Killed in action — his body was later recovered.
Went down to the landing place for water during the fighting on Levita and was not seen again; killed in action, 24 October 1943. Source: ‘Invasion of the Dodecanese Islands’ (Battle of Leros / Assault on Levita), Episodes & Studies Vol. 1 (NZ official war history).
Shepherd; born Napier, 25 Sep 1914. Killed in action, 24 Oct 1943. Source: Episodes & Studies Vol. 1 (biographical notes).
LRDG Roll of Honour, the Aegean 1943: Trooper, missing, presumed killed, 24 October 1943, R2 Patrol. Source: Brendan O’Carroll, ‘The Long Range Desert Group in the Aegean’ (Appendix III, LRDG Roll of Honour: the Aegean Operations 1943).
New Zealanders in the Levita action, 24 October 1943: killed in action, 24 October 1943. Source: Brendan O’Carroll, ‘The Kiwi Scorpions’ (Appendix IX, New Zealanders in the Levita action).
Embarkation detail from his Cenotaph record: he embarked as Private, Infantry Reinforcements, 2NZEF Nominal Roll 3 p. 49. The rank held on this card, Trooper, is the cavalry and armoured-corps name for the same rank, so the two are not in conflict. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph, record C20929.
Cenotaph record linked. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph.
The prefix NZ has been added to his service number, on the authority of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph record already linked on this card — the Museum holds him as a New Zealand service person. The digits are unchanged. This roll formerly left the number unmarked, which made it look like a British number to anyone reading the field rather than the card.
See him in the full roll →Where this comes from
- Missing info added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll.
This page is part of the Long Range Desert Group roll of members at lrdgarchive.org. If you hold rights to anything on it and would like it credited differently, or taken down, please see Sources and Copyright. It will be dealt with promptly.
Not By Strength But By Guile