Bill Bowden was born in Manchester Lancashire England on the 16th of September 1917, the son of William and Florence Bowden. He probably served in the RN during the Second World War and he emigrated to Australia in March 1950 on the RMS Ormonde with his wife Laura and five year old daughter. At the time of emigrating Bill’s occupation was recorded as Laboratory Assistant. When they arrived in Freemantle in April 1950, enroute to Sydney, they gave their address to immigration as being care of a Mrs Walters in Macksville, possibly a family friend or relative.
In 1954 Bill was working in Westmead NSW as a clerk before moving to Macksville, on the Mid-North Coast of NSW, in the late 1950s and then to Comboyne near Wauchope in the early 1960s.
In the 1970s the couple lived in the Newcastle area, Bill working as a Cost Clerk before retiring to Scotts Head east of Macksville around 1980 where they lived in the local caravan park.
Bill passed away on the 11th of October 1990 at the age of 73. His body was cremated and his ashes interred in a memorial wall at Lavertys’ Funeral Home in Macksville. Laura would live to the age of 81 and when she passed in 2003 her ashes were interred next to Bill’s.
