Son of George and Florence Owen.
Telegraphist Owen was on board one of the ships taking part in Operation Jubilee, the raid on the German occupied port of Dieppe in France. The objective was to seize and hold a major port for a short period, both to prove it was possible, and to gather intelligence from prisoners and captured materials while assessing the German response. The raid was also intended to use aircraft to draw the Luftwaffe into a large, planned encounter. No major objectives of the raid were accomplished. 3,623 of the 6,086 men who made it ashore were either killed, wounded, or captured. The Allied air forces failed to lure the Luftwaffe into open battle and lost 119 planes, while the Royal Navy suffered 555 casualties. The catastrophe at Dieppe later influenced Allied preparations for both Operation Torch (the landings in North Africa), and Operation Overlord (the Normandy landings). Telegraphist Owen was reported as missing presumed killed and is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 68, Column 2.
