Lance Corporal Oswald Wharrie Cowham
| Date of Birth | c. 1879 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 38 |
| Date of Death | 01 December 1917 |
| Service Number | M2/104089 |
| Military Service | D Ammunition Park, Army Service Corps |
| Merton Address | 28 Park Road |
| Local Memorial | Christ Church, Colliers Wood |
Additional Information
Oswald was born in Westminster in the spring of 1878. His parents, Joseph Henry Cowham and Eliza Anna Cowham (sometimes shown as Anna) already had three children, Ethel, Hilda and Harold and they went on to have a further two, Leslie and Evelyn. They lived at 1 Leicester Villas in Wandsworth and had one servant.
On leaving school, Oswald went into banking and in 1901 he was boarding at 9 Leathwaite Road, Battersea.
He married Olive Gertrude Bullock who came from Westbourne, Sussex, in October 1908 and they settled in Colliers Wood at 29 Park Road. By the 1911 census they had four children, Alec, Kitty and twins Vera and Olive. They were also able to afford to have Alice Wildey living with them as their domestic help.
When war broke out, Oswald enlisted as a private in the Royal Army Service Corps, D Battalion, service number M2/104089. The RASC was responsible for the transport and supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery.
By 1917 Oswald was an acting Lance Corporal but he was killed on 1 December 1917 and is buried in the Grevilliers British Cemetery. He left his widow £853 17s