Public Contributions:

Date of birth 28/05/1888 Otago Regiment 1st Battalion, Company 10. His brother Alexander Murdoch Howden also went to war but returned home. [Record since amended - NZWGT]
William Howden was born in Falkirk Scotland. He enlisted 5th Nov 1914 as a private into the Otago Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, 10th Company. Training at Tahuna Camp, he departed NZ for the Suez ...Canal, Egypt on the14th of Dec 1914. He spent 3 months in Egypt until the ANZAC's landing at Gallipoli on 25th Apr 1915. He survived numerous offensives and was eventually wounded 23rd Aug 1915. Out of action for a month he returned to be part of the eventual evacuation from Gallipoli in December of 1915. Returning to Egypt, he was joined by his younger brother Alexander Howden 15th Mar 1916. It was a brief three weeks til the ANZAC's were shipped to France 6th Apr 1916. Travelling 3 days from Marseille by train, they were based in Armentieres. It was during the second big push during the Battle of Somme that William was killed, 30th Sep 1916. His brother was injured two weeks earlier and was sent to the UK to recover and eventually survived the First World War. Read More