Phelan and Atkin Family History

The Cowan brothers: Charles standing, Ken seated at right (with younger brother Arthur seated at left) One of the interesting parts of my journey in family history research has been discovering the many men in our family who served in the Great War. Dad in fact had uncles on the Phelan side who served that he himself didn't recall. But there were another two who were definitely remembered: Ken and Charles Cowan were the two eldest sons of Joseph Charles Martin Cowan and Florence Davenport, and would also have been Dad's uncles were it not for the fact that both were killed in the horrific conflict. Ken and Charles were among the first men to sign up in support of the empire. On 11 August 1914, just one week after the declaration of war, the call went out for volunteers in Australia. Four days later, on 15 August, both boys showed up to heed that call, Ken enlisting at Melbourne and Charles at Moonee Ponds. Harry Kennett (Ken) Cowan was 20 years old, had been working as a grocer...

The First World War claimed the lives of several members of the Phelan and Atkin family trees, however not as many suffered the same fate in the Second World War - in fact it may have only been one: Dad's first cousin George Kennett Charles Gilbert Clark, known as Ken. The name 'Kennett' was likely bestowed in honour of Ken's (and Dad's) uncle Harry Kennett Cowan, who was one of those to be tragically killed in the preceding war. Harry, also known as Ken, and his brother Charles Cowan both paid the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War; I will write about their wartime experience in a future post. Ken Clark was the son of Harold and Essie Clark (nee Cowan) and was employed as a window dresser at the time of his enlistment, on 20 May 1940 at Brighton, a month after his 25th birthday. His initial posting was to the 2/14th Battalion and he embarked at Sydney on 19 October on the Aquitania , arriving in the Middle East on 25 November. He spent over a year there, but...