Born in Lismore, Co. Waterford.
Enlisted at Dublin on the 14th of April 1847.
Age: 18 years 1 month.
Height: 5' 7".
Trade: Servant.
Appearance: Fresh complexion. Grey eyes. Brown hair.
Transferred to the 8th Hussars at Aldershot on the 1st of September 1857. Regimental No. 22.
Embarked for India from Cork aboard the S.S. "Great Britain" on the 8th of October 1857
Discharged from Canterbury on the 27th of September 1870.
"Unfit for further service. -Ankylosis — the result of an injury received whilst on mounted duty in 1856.
The disease was incurred directly by the service and caused by his horse falling with him.
Likely to be permanent and will permit him to contribute no more than one-half towards his livelihood."
Served 23 years 152 days.
In Turkey and the Crimea: 1 year 10 months
In India: 8 years 5 months
Conduct and character: "very good".
In possession of four Good Conduct badges. Thirteen times entered in the Regimental Defaulters' book. Never tried by Court-martial.
Aged 41 years 4 months on discharge.
Documents confirm the award of the Crimean medal with four clasps, the Mutiny medal with clasp for Central India and the Long Service & Good Conduct medal.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Sebastopol.
Mutiny medal with clasp for Central India.
Served at Kotah and Gwalior.
Awarded the Long Service & Good Conduct medal on the 10th of May 1869.
The Returned Medal Book shows his Crimean and Turkish medals as being returned to the Mint. No trace of issue.
To live in Lismore, Co. Waterford, Ireland.
Awarded a pension of 1/- per day.
Member of the Balaclava Commemoration Society in 1879.
A four clasp Crimean medal was known to have been sold from the "Alderman Richard Gillett" collection at a Sotheby's auction on the 21st/22nd of February 1912. It was again sold from the "Revd. E.H. Goddard" collection at a Glendining's auction on the 26th of April 1912. It was named (according to the catalogue listings) to "Ml. Bowler. 8th Hussars." in February of 1912 and as "M. Bowler. 8th Hussars." in April.
A four clasp Crimean medal that had been "named" to him was an exhibit in a trial held at Manchester in July of 1977 when two Midland medal dealers were convicted of falsifying the naming on previously unnamed Crimean medals.
The forged naming Crimean medal was returned to the dealers concerned by the police, being first impressed on the edge by the letter "F."