Charles Cowley

He ran a supply ship through fire to reach the besieged men.

Charles Henry Cowley was born at Baghdad on 21 February 1872. Educated at Frodsham Academy, he joined the training ship HMS Worcester in 1885 and later worked for Lynch Brothers on the Tigris. His knowledge of the rivers and Arabic made him valuable as a pilot, interpreter and intelligence agent. In August 1915 he was commissioned a temporary lieutenant commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve for service with the river steamers.

In April 1916, British and Indian forces in Kut-el-Amara were besieged and in urgent need of supplies. Lieutenant Commander Charles Henry Cowley, an experienced river captain serving with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, joined Lieutenant Humphrey Firman and a volunteer crew aboard the river steamer Julnar. On the evening of 24 April, they set out from Falahiyah with 270 tons of supplies, attempting to run the Tigris to the trapped garrison. Artillery and machine-gun fire was used to draw attention away from the vessel, but Ottoman forces spotted and shelled it as it steamed upriver.

The Julnar did not reach Kut. A steel obstruction across the river halted the vessel at Magasis, where it came under heavy fire. Firman was killed and Cowley was wounded and captured with the surviving crew. The crew became prisoners; Cowley was separated from them and never returned. British authorities initially reported that he had been killed, but the circumstances and location of his death remained uncertain, and his body was never found. His service as a river captain on the Tigris and Euphrates had made him central to British operations in Mesopotamia. The Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously to Cowley and Firman, and Cowley’s mother received the cross in Basra in 1917. He is commemorated on the Basra Memorial.

### Victoria Cross citation

“The King has been graciously pleased to approve of the posthumous grant of the Victoria Cross to Lieutenant Humphry Osbaldeeton Brooke Firman, R.N., and Lieutenant-Commander Charles Henry Cowley, R.N.V.R., in recognition of their conspicuous gallantry in an attempt to re-provision the force besieged in Kut-el-Amara.

The General Officer Commanding, Indian Expeditionary Force ‘D,’ reported on this attempt in the following words:

‘At 8 p.m. on April 24th, 1916, with a crew from the Royal Navy under Lieutenant Firman, R.N., assisted by Lieutenant-Commander Cowley, R.N.V.R., the “Julnar,” carrying 270 tons of supplies, left Falahiyah in an attempt to reach Kut. Her departure was covered by all Artillery and machine gun fire that could be brought to bear, in the hope of distracting the enemy’s attention. She was, however, discovered and shelled on her passage up the river. At 1 a.m. on the 25th General Townshend reported that she had not arrived, and that at midnight a burst of heavy firing had been heard at Magasis, some 8½ miles from Kut by river, which had suddenly ceased. There could be but little doubt that the enterprise had failed, and the next day the Air Service reported the “Julnar” in the hands of the Turks at Magasis. The leaders of this brave attempt, Lieutenant H. O. B. Firman, R.N., and his assistant—Lieutenant-Commander C. H. Cowley, R.N.V.R.—the latter of whom throughout the campaign in Mesopotamia performed magnificent service in command of the “Mejidieh”—have been reported by the Turks to have been killed; the remainder of the gallant crew, including five wounded, are prisoners of war. Knowing well the chances against them, all the gallant officers and men who manned the “Julnar” for the occasion were volunteers. I trust that the services in this connection of Lieutenant H. O. B. Firman, R.N., and Lieutenant-Commander C. H. Cowley, R.N.V.R., his assistant, both of whom were unfortunately killed, may be recognised by the posthumous grant of some suitable honour.’”

### Sources

- The London Gazette, no. 29928, 2 February 1917, p. 1160, Admiralty announcement and report on the Julnar attempt. - Commonwealth War Graves Commission, “Lieut-Commander Charles Henry Cowley VC, RNVR—‘Heroics in Mesopotamia’,” 24 January 2024. - Victoria Cross and George Cross Association, “Charles Henry Cowley,” recipient profile.