Oliver William BOWDLER - Tunneller ? B.N.A. site (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Sunday, May 04, 2014, 18:26 (3862 days ago) @ Paul Andrews

Hi again Paul,
thanks for your excellent advice again, altho' I'm afraid to say I THINK Janey has already tried this route - it was suggested in her post on the "WDYTYA?" forum which I mentioned in my post earlier - http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/forum/topic10188.html

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Janey - I hope the rugby went well today, just a little battered but not too beaten ?

Reading your "WDYTYA?" thread you say your family have suggested Oliver was involved in Tunnelling under the lines ?. Have you followed this up at all ?.
If he was doing this I THINK - not certain - that he wouldn't have still been in the 13th Glosters. Afraid I haven't read their War Diary yet, clearly THE best source for the 13th; however from what I've read elsewhere (eg the "Malvern" site link I posted here yesterday), tunnelling wasn't part of the 13th Pioneers' work. Not surprisingly there were specialist Tunnelling Companies raised near to the FoD in Monmouthshire, but Oliver could also have transferred to them while in France. Despite tunnelling/undermining being an ancient Sappers skill in Britain, it was the German Army who first started it in WW1, yet it was the British (& Empire Allies) who deliberately recruited ex-miners etc into their Tunnelling Companies. If Oliver did transfer to a Tunnelling Coy then it's another reason for ensuring you doublecheck as many possible Medal Cards as you can find in case he's not shown as a "Gloster".
This prior thread discusses the Tunnelling Companies in more depth;
http://forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=41028

Finally, you mentioned your brief search of the British Newspaper Association BNA website. It may interest you to know that they've just made their site far more affordable, now offering monthly subscriptions at a very reasonable cost which will permit 200 downloads. Indeed one of the hits I've found today is a lengthy text-only article in the Gloucester Journal from 19th July 1919 which appears to detail the history of the 13th Glosters. I haven't downloaded it, yet, as I suspect it's one of the reference sources used by the "Malvern" site. I have today searched the BNA site for Oliver Bowdler (and spelling variations); as you know he gets a few mentions wrt his legal dealings !, both in Littledean and later in Devon. The only military mention I've found, while specifically searching the Glos papers 1910-1919, gave a possible relative in the same Blaize Bailey area ?. The search-engine hit shows

"Ruardean ... Bergt. Miles, Col.- Bergt.-Inst. W. Jones, Sergt. Bowers, Lance- Corpl. Webb. Corpl. Weaver, Sergt. Nelmes, Lance-Corpl. Bowdler, Pte. Weaving, Tyler."
Saturday 27 December 1913 , Gloucester Journal.

I'll download and post this in in full later.