George Mouatt Dow - Link to Stenhousemuir
- Admin
- Nov 21
- 3 min read
3137 Private, ‘D’ Company, 46th Battalion, 12th Brigade, 4th Australian Division
Age: 23
Date of death: 16.7.17
Family history: Son of George and Margaret Lind Dow, Carronvale, Armadale, Perth, Western Australia. He was the nephew of Peter and Isobella Richardson (nee Dow), Crownest Loan, Stenhousemuir. He was employed as a Pastry Cook before he enlisted in October 1916. He had tried to enlist previously but stated on his Attestation form that he was rejected because he had no natural teeth something that the army fixed for him as he underwent dental treatment. He joined the 8th Reinforcements and after initial training sailed for England on 29 December 1916 and arrived on 3 March 1917, he then underwent initial trench training and went to the 4th Australian Divisional Depot at Etaples on 30 May 1917. He joined the 46th Battalion in the field on 21 June.
Action leading to his death
The Battalion was in the Ploegsteert sector at Hill 63. The 63-metre knoll of Hill 63, also known as Rossignol Heights, is a prominent feature upon which sits the remains of the Chateau de la Hutte, known as Hennessy’s Chateau by the troops although it was never owned by the family. During the War the hill was full of redoubts, trenches, machine-gun posts, observation posts and gun pits. It commands views of Mont Kemmel and Mont de Cats to the west and enjoys extensive views eastwards, down the valley of the River Douve and along the German-occupied southern slopes of the Messines Ridge to Warneton and its distinctive water-tower, referred to by the troops as Warneton Tower.
Beneath the hill were the Catacombs, officially named Hill 63 Dugouts, the Australians gave them the name Wallangara, although it was generally called The Catacombs. This was the most ambitious engineering project undertaken by the military on either side in the war. It was a system of chambers with connecting galleries, entrances and exits and had sleeping accommodation, on bunks, for 1,200 men and accommodation for 250 officers and men in steel huts outside, these were covered by the spoil from the workings. Before them, the Canadians in 1915, had shelters and dugouts on the southern and eastern slopes of the hill.
In the western part of the wood, between Red Lodge and Hyde Park Corner, is the concrete shelter that housed a 16hp 480-volt electricity generator, supplied by the Australian Electrical and Mechanical Mining and Boring Company known as ‘The Alphabeticals’ because of their initials, AE&MMBC. The Catacombs were created by the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company and used throughout 1917 and 1918 by many Australian and other units. The main entrance at Hyde Park Corner was large enough to allow a large wagon to enter and this was set up in two one-way passage systems to allow the orderly entering and exiting of men.
The Battalion War Diary records that they were at Hill 63 with the Battalion HQ in one of the forts named Fort Garry. They were providing working parties to the front line which was located to the east of Messines. Working parties worked with the engineers by bringing up material for trench riveting, creating dugouts and bunkers, trench railways, and wiring parties. Much of this work meant working out in the open and at night and working parties had casualties from sniper fire, shelling, and machine gun fire. The Battalion War Diary does not mention specific casualties but does record the casualties for the period 29 June to 18 July as ‘1 Officer wounded, Other Ranks 12 killed, 36 wounded, and 2 gassed.’
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