http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1438383/BOWDER,%20FRANCIS%20JOHN
1891: Birth registered Chapel-en-le-Frith Vol 7b Page 760 O/N/D.
1892: Baptised 20th April 1892 at Fairfield.
1901 Census: Living @ 87 London Road, Buxton aged 9yrs.
1911 Census: Living @ 15 Alma Street, Buxton aged 19yrs.
Occupation: Railway Carriage Cleaner.
Service: Building Railways in Egypt for Ammunition Transport.
Francis enlisted in the Royal Engineers in Buxton. Francis embarked for Egypt on the 17th December 1917 aboard HMS Aragon.
(The Aragon was built in 1905 for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co by Harland and Wolff.
After arriving at Alexandria on the 30th December 1917 with 2,700 on board she was ordered
back out of the harbour as no berth was available. Immediately having cleared the harbour she
was torpedoed and the German submarine UC 34 and sank with a loss of 610 lives, HMS
SS Attack a destroyer who came to her aid was also sank.
1927: In 1927 Francis’s sister Edith applied for his Medals, this is recorded on his medal card dated 20th February 1927, she was still living at 15 Alma Street.