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Keith Eric Fowler - Information

Born in Campbelltown, Keith eventually moved to Marrickville finding work as a timber carter. Keith decided to enlist in the AIF at the age of 30, joining up at Casula on the 31st of January 1916.

During training, Keith was placed with a few units and finally the 59th Battalion as a Private in April. He left Melbourne on the 4th of May on the HMAT Port Lincoln. He arrived in England for further instruction before being shipped to the Western Front in France in November. On the 25th of November, he was taken on strength to the 60th Battalion in the field. In the new year, Keith and his unit slugged it out during the Second Battle of Bullecourt, an assault of the well-fortified Hindenburg Line. Later in the year, they fought in the mud during the Third Battle of Ypres, launching the Germans at Polygon Wood. 1918 proved to be a difficult year for the troops. Fierce fighting erupted following the German Spring Offensive in March and the subsequent Allied campaign in August. In September 1918, he was transferred back to the 59th Battalion due to dwindling unit numbers. Keith survived the war and left England to return to Australia on the 10th of June 1919 aboard the Port Lyttleton.