User:HarryMcG-L/sandbox - Misplaced Pages

Biography

Early life and golf career

William McGowan was born in 1886 in Prestwick, Ayrshire, Scotland, a town known as the birthplace of modern golf. He eventually became the professional at Radcliffe-on-Trent Golf Club in Nottinghamshire, England, where he ws an apprentice to Tom Williamson and David Kinell, who both came top 10 in the British Open at least once. There is no record of significant tournament victories, but he participated in the Open qualifying in Prestwick in 1908, the Midland Professional Championship and the £350 Foursome.

Due to the fact that he was taught by two people that were both encredibility skilled, it is rumoured that he had the potential to be in the top 10 in the British Open if not for the war.

World War I service and death

When World War I broke out, William enlisted in the sherwood Foresters and later The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) 7th Bn, regiment of the British Army. He served as a private on the Western Front. On 24 October 1918, He was killed in action during the final stages of the war as Allied forces advanced through northern France. His death occurred just weeks before the armistice on 11 November 1918.

William McGowan is buried at the Verchain British Cemetery Cross Roads Cemetery in Fontaine-Au-Bois, Nord, France. The cemetery contains the graves of soldiers who fell during the final months of the war.

Family

William McGowan was the second youngest out of his 8 siblings his parents were Alexander and Jeanie he had one child called Kenneth

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References

- British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920 (via Ancestry.com) - Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) record for William McGowan - Radcliffe-on-Trent Golf Club history

External links

- William McGowan's CWGC record