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William Fowlds in 1911 in the Kings College First XV.
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 31-WP325.

‘Greystone Knowe’, the Fowlds’ family home in Mount Albert.
Sir George Fowlds papers. MSS & Archives A-17, volume 11/2. Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.

William Forrest Fowlds

William Forrest Fowlds was born in Mount Albert, Auckland in 1894, the youngest son of George and Mary Fowlds, who emigrated from Fenwick, Scotland in 1885.1 George Fowlds was a prominent politician and community leader and served as chairman and president of Auckland University College between 1920 and 1933. He was knighted in 1928.2

The Fowlds family lived in Mount Albert at their home ‘Greystone Knowe’ from 1889 to 1926. William was one of seven children and had two brothers and four sisters.3 Sadly, his eldest sister Jennie died in 1900 at the young age of 12 when William was aged six.4

Fowlds attended school at Point Chevalier and later at Kings College as a boarder, along with his elder brother John.5 William was a member of the First XV and the College Cadets during his time at Kings.6


The Fowlds family pictured on their 1910 Christmas card. L-R: Annie Agnes, William Forrest, George Fowlds, Daisy Janet, May Craig, Mary Ann, John Fulton and George Mathew.
Sir George Fowlds papers. MSS & Archives A-17, folder 10/5. Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.

William with his sisters, 1910. L-R: May, William, Agnes and Daisy.
Sir George Fowlds papers. MSS & Archives A-17, volume 11/2. Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.

Study and work

Fowlds sat his matriculation examination in 1912 and although his father was `not very hopeful about his passing',7 Fowlds went on to attend Auckland University College (AUC) in 1914 where he studied Chemistry and Latin.8 He was also a member of the Auckland College Rifles, Signalling Corps.9

George Fowlds wrote to one of his friends about his son saying, `He has taken up the profession of Occulist and I have tried to impress on him the great value of which a B.Sc Degree would be to him, but as it is not essential he has not so far taken much notice of my suggestions’.10

Fowlds worked as an optometrist for George Read on Karangahape Road until he enlisted for military service on 5 September 1915.11

‘You have had a long hard spell and we are all proud of the way you have stuck to it and we earnestly hope that you are spared to see it brought to a satisfactory end’.

Sir George Fowlds writing to his son, 10 September 1917.
Sir George Fowlds papers. MSS & Archives A-17, volume 1/76. Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.

William Fowlds receives fatherly advice in this September 1916 letter.
Sir George Fowlds papers. MSS & Archives A-17, volume 1/75. Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.

War years

Fowlds was made a 2nd Lieutenant in the 4th Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade and during February 1916 left for Egypt on the troopship HMNZT Mokoia.12  The ship’s magazine, The Mokoian, records that while on board Fowlds gave a lecture titled Notes from the Front and the Failures they reveal.13

Fowlds and his battalion arrived in France in April 1916 and five months later in September 1916 they took part in the infamous battle of the Somme.14 Fowlds would go on to fight alongside his battalion in Messines and Passchendaele in 1917 and to serve as part of the occupation force in Germany in 1918-1919.15


A respite from battle: New Zealand Rifle Brigade officers `skylarking about in a wheatfield, France 1916’. Accession 2001.445.2, Kippenberger Military Archive, National Army Museum Te Mata Toa, Waiouru.

Throughout the war, Fowlds wrote to his father George, whose papers are now housed in Special Collections. The Sir George Fowlds papers include letter books containing copies of his correspondence with William. Although the Fowlds papers do not include William’s letters, his father’s replies provide some insight into his wartime experiences and also into the effect it had on the Fowlds family.16

In most of the letters, George Fowlds offers words of advice to his son, such as wearing two pairs of socks to prevent frostbite and being careful not to fall victim to London’s `many seductions and temptations'. The family sent packages and money to Fowlds, including a Christmas cake in a tin. As the war raged on and Christmases without his son came and went, George Fowlds wrote of his concern for his son and his longing to see him back home safely.17

It seems that William Fowlds also shared his experiences of hardship with his father and asked that he support his application to transfer to the Royal Flying Corps. George Fowlds in turn sent letters to a number of British MPs asking that his son be considered for transfer. Ultimately, Fowlds’ application was unsuccessful and his father replied to the news with words of encouragement, saying how proud he was of his son.18

As the war went on, Fowlds’ dedication and leadership skills were recognised and in November 1917 he was promoted to Captain.19 A month later, he was mentioned in despatches ‘for distinguished and gallant services and devotion to duty’.20

He received the Military Cross in 1918 for ‘gallantry and continuous good service, particularly in the operations against Passchendaele on 12th October 1917, and in the Sector north east of Polygon Wood during November and December 1917 and January 1918’. He showed ‘fine powers of leadership’ and ‘in the most trying circumstances his personal gallantry has inspired his company’.21

William Fowlds at Seabrook and Fowlds Ltd.
Whites Aviation Ltd: Photographs. Ref: WA-57988-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

Returning home

Fowlds was one of the last men in his unit to leave Germany. He returned to New Zealand as adjutant on the SS Pakeha in May 1919.22

Back in Auckland, Fowlds decided he wanted to work in business rather than optometry and for a short time he worked at Custom House to gain some experience.23 In 1920, he joined fellow returned serviceman, Jack Seabrook in business and together they formed the company Seabrook and Fowlds Ltd and began importing Austin cars.24

Three years later Fowlds married Mary Geraldine Wooldridge.25 A 1930 newspaper article described Fowlds as an optimistic person and noted that a few seconds in his company was a ‘tip-top panacea for the blues’. 26

In 1941 he was elected as a councillor for Auckland City Council, a position he held until 1947.27

William Fowlds was still a company director when he died in Auckland aged 81 in March 1976.28 He was buried at Purewa Cemetery, Auckland.29

 Leah Johnston, Special Collections

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  1. ‘Fowlds, William Forrest – WW1 26/4 – Army’, R24097831, Archives New Zealand, Wellington; Frank Rogers, 'Fowlds, George', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 24 September 2013, accessed 5 February 2016.
  2. Rogers.
  3. Births, deaths and marriages online, Department of Internal Affairs.
  4. Katherine Pawley, A precious one from us has gone, June 2011, accessed via University of Auckland, Special Collections blog.
  5. George Fowlds papers. 11 March 1908, MSS & Archives A-17, 1/22, Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.
  6. B. Hamilton, O floreat semper; the history of King’s College 1896-1995, Auckland, 1995, p. 425; ‘Fowlds, William Forrest – WW1 26/4 - Army’.
  7. Sir George Fowlds papers. MSS & Archives A-17, 1/71. Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.
  8. Sir George Fowlds papers. MSS & Archives A-17, 1/68. Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.
  9. ‘Fowlds, William Forrest – WW1 26/4 - Army’.
  10. Sir George Fowlds papers. MSS & Archives A-17, 1/68. Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.
  11. ‘Fowlds, William Forrest – WW1 26/4 - Army’.
  12. ibid.
  13. ‘The Mokoian, souvenir edition’, February 1916, p.5, accessed via Auckland Museum Library.
  14. W.S. Austin, The official history of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, Wellington, 1924, pp.61-68.
  15. ‘Fowlds, William Forrest – WW1 26/4 - Army’.
  16. Sir George Fowlds papers. MSS & Archives A-17. Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.
  17. Sir George Fowlds papers. MSS & Archives A-17, volume 1/75. Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.
  18. ibid.
  19. ‘Fowlds, William Forrest – WW1 26/4 - Army’.
  20. W. McDonald, Honours and Awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War 1914-1918, Napier, 2001, p.108.
  21. ibid.
  22. ‘Fowlds, William Forrest – WW1 26/4 - Army’.
  23. Sir George Fowlds papers. MSS & Archives A-17, volume 1/77. Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.
  24. Peter H. Hughes, ‘Seabrook, John’, from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Te Ara - the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, updated 9 March 2015, accessed 5 February 2016.
  25. Births, deaths and marriages online, Department of Internal Affairs.
  26. NZ Truth, 11 December 1930, p.6, accessed via Papers Past.
  27. New Zealand Herald, 24 May 1941, p.17, accessed via Papers Past; Auckland Star, 10 June 1944, p.9, accessed via Papers Past.
  28. ‘Fowlds, William Forrest – Auckland – Company Director’, R13086352, Archives New Zealand, Auckland.
  29. Burial and cremation details, available online at Purewa Cemetery and Crematorium, accessed 5 February 2016.