Dubbo NSW
1746
45th Battalion,
Tooraweenah Kookaburra
KIA 13.10.1917
Private David Gow was a 21 year old labourer of Dubbo when he enlisted on January 12, 1916 with the Tooraweenah Kookaburras and marched to Bathurst. The medical examination described him as 5’ 8”, 134lbs, chest expansion of 32”-35”, fair complexion, blue eyes, brown hair and a scar inside the left knee. His religion is Church of England.
After training at Bathurst, David embarked at Sydney with the 45th Battalion on board the HMAT Ceramic on April 14, 1916. The unit trained a further month at Tel-el-Kabir in Egypt and left for England in June 1916. He joined his unit around Albert, France on August 9, 1916 and faced the trenches of the Western Front in winter. David was charged with insolent conduct in October.
David was wounded in action for the first time in February 1917. He suffered gunshot wounds to his head, arm and buttock at Guedecourt and was treated at the Canada General Hospital in France. He returned to his unit in May 1917. He was wounded in action again on June 8, 1917at Messines Ridge and rejoined his unit nine days later.
David was killed in action on October 13, 1917 at Passchendaele during the 3rd Battle of Ypres and he is buried in the Passchendaele New British Cemetery.
He is commemorated on the Wongarbon War Memorial and at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on Panel 139