William Leslie Bowles

William Leslie Bowles was an Australian sculptor and medallist who studied carving and modelling at the Brisbane Technical College under Lewis J. Harvey. He won a scholarship to study in London in 1910 and worked as an assistant to Sir E. Bertram Mackennal. He enlisted in the 25th London Regiment in 1914 and later joined the Royal Tank Corps. After the war, he returned to England and exhibited at the Royal Academy. He also entered a competition to design a memorial for the Desert Mounted Corps in Port Said, Egypt, and won third place. He returned to Australia in 1924 and was employed by the Australian War Memorial on the production of dioramas, sculptures and medals depicting significant events and figures from the First World War. He worked as the head sculptor of the modelling section at the Memorial from 1925 to 1931. He also designed the gargoyles in the commemorative courtyard and proposed a sculptural feature for the Hall of Memory. He died in 1954 at the age of 69. He is regarded as one of Australia's most well-known official war artists and one of the first Australian sculptors to achieve international recognition. He left behind a legacy of sculptures, dioramas, models and medals that are displayed at the Australian War Memorial and other institutions.