 Blanche had served in the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps in Australia during the war.Due to his brief overseas service, the end of the war found Rowell still a lieutenant and thus junior in rank to his contemporaries but the snail-like pace of promotions between the wars allowed him to gradually catch up.He was promoted to captain on 1 January 1920, major on 1 January 1926, and the brevet rank lieutenant colonel on 1 July 1935, with substantive rank on 1 January 1936.