1787272, Gunner, 31 Battery. 7 Coast Regiment. Royal Artillery.
Died on the 20th October 1942 aged 37.
Harry Rowbottom was born on Sunday 6 May 1906, the son of Harry & Elizabeth Rowbottom, whose was at 47 Longcroft Road, Stevenage. Before joining the army, he was employed as a gardener at the Moorhens nursery in Letchworth. On 13 March 1941, Harry joined the army and was drafted into the Royal Artillery, where he was posted to the 7th Coastal Artillery Regiment. Following a period of basic training and induction into his work with the artillery, Harry was posted to the fortress island of Singapore on 29 July 1941. His regiment comprised of four batteries. No.11 and No.31 Batteries, Royal Artillery, along with No.5 and No.7 Batteries of the Hong Kong & Singapore Royal Artillery. They manned Beting Kusha Battery, with 2 x 6 “ guns and Johore Battery, with 3 x 15” guns, two of which were used against the Japanese as they could be turned to target them on Johore and Singapore. On the 14 February 1942, the island fortress was captured by the Japanese Imperial Army and Harry was taken prisoner. Initially, he was sent to Changi Jail, which held around 50,000 troops at one time. Harry was then moved to Malai POW Camp 1 in Thailand, and transferred to Camp 2 to build the Burma Railway. He died of Diphtheria whilst a Prisoner of War, probably as a result of his treatment. Harry is buried in the Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore. (13.E.17.)