The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (F3740) Ordinary Seaman Lawrence Herbert Bowron, HMAS Canberra, Second World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (F3740) Ordinary Seaman Lawrence Herbert Bowron, HMAS Canberra, Second World War.

F3740 Ordinary Seaman Lawrence Herbert Bowron, HMAS Canberra
KIA 9 August 1942
Photograph: P06379.001

Story delivered 9 August 2015

Today we remember Ordinary Seaman Lawrence Herbert Bowron and the ship’s company of HMAS Canberra, who were lost during the battle of Savo Island in 1942.

Built in England, the County-class heavy cruiser Canberra was armed with eight 8-inch guns and was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy in 1928 with a mixture of ages and experiences.

Lawrence “Laurie” Herbert Bowron was born on 10 September 1922 in Beverley, in the wheat-belt region of Western Australia, the third son of Charles and Margaret Bowron. Charles Bowron was a returned man of the Great War, having served in the infantry on Gallipoli and later on the Western Front with the 29th Battalion. In late 1918 Charles married Margaret Mendersby. The couple went on to have six sons and a daughter, and settled in Quairading. In 1933, however, Charles Bowron died aged 43. His widow later remarried.

Laurie Bowron enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy Reserve in mid-1941, aged 18. Ultimately, three of his brothers also served in the forces during the war – two in the army and another in the navy.

Initially posted to HMAS Leeuwin, the naval depot for Fremantle, in early 1942 Bowron was sent to HMAS Cerberus, a training establishment some 70 kilometres south of Melbourne on Western Port Bay. He remained at Cerberus for several months before being posted to HMAS Penguin in Sydney Harbour in May.

Bowron joined Canberra’s company on 30 May. The following night the Australian heavy cruiser was anchored near the American light cruiser USS Chicago when the Japanese made their ill-fated midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour.

During June Canberra operated alongside Chicago as part of the joint Australian–American naval task force, conducting offensive sweeps in the Coral Sea.

In August Canberra was part of the task force supporting the amphibious landings of the United States Marines at Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese fiercely resisted any move made by the Allies in the Solomons, which at the time was the principal theatre in the South Pacific. In the early hours of 9 August a powerful Japanese naval force engaged the Allied ships in a vicious night battle. It was a spectacular victory for the Japanese, with four Allied cruisers sunk. Other ships were badly damaged, with more than 1,000 Allied sailors killed and 700 wounded.

During the action Canberra was hit by two torpedoes and more than 20 salvoes of 8-inch shell-fire, and was left listing without power. The wounded and survivors were transferred to American destroyers, and at about 8 am the abandoned Canberra finally sank. More than 80 officers and ratings serving in Canberra were killed or died of wounds, including five members of the Royal Australian Air Force and one officer of the United States Navy.

Laurie Bowron was among the dead. He was 19 years old.

He is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial in Britain. In his home state of Western Australia, a memorial plaque is dedicated to him in Perth’s Kings Park’s Honour Avenue. Bowron’s name is also listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with around 40,000 others from the Second World War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Ordinary Seaman Lawrence “Laurie” Herbert Bowron and all of those Australians – and those of our allies – who have given their lives in service of our nation.

Dr Karl James
Historian, Military History Section