Lieutenant-Colonel George Robert Harland Bowden (1873 – 10 October 1927) was a British mechanical engineer and Conservative Party politician.
Born in Durham, at the age of 15 he was apprenticedtoLambton Collieries whilst attending classes at Durham College of Science.[1][2]
In 1890 he moved to South Wales as improver for the ironworks at Tondu. In 1891 he became assistant engineer and chief draughtsman at Cyfarthfa Ironworks, Merthyr Tydfil.[1] He returned to North East England in 1896 as manager of D Selby Bigge and Company, an engineering company based in Newcastle. In 1902 he founded his own company, G Harland Bowden and Company, consulting engineers of Victoria Street, London. The firm specialised in the design and installation of colliery and factory plants.[1] In 1908 he became a Member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.[1]
In 1907 Bowden was granted a Volunteer Force commission in the Royal Garrison Artillery.[3][4]
Bowden was active in Conservative Party politics, and in April 1912 was adopted as the party's prospective candidate for the parliamentary constituency of North East Derbyshire.[5] In April 1914 the sitting Labour Party member of parliament for North East Derbyshire died, causing a by-election.[6] The by-election was held on 20 May, and Bowden was elected to the Commons, gaining the seat for the Conservatives with a majority of 314 votes.[7] During World War I Bowden became commanding officer of 17th (Empire) Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers, a war-formed unit.[8] He continued to hold his parliamentary seat during the war, but found himself estranged from the Conservative Party, going so far as to issue libel proceedings against a party official. At the 1918 general election he defended his seat as an Independent Conservative, opposed by a Conservative candidate who had the support of the Coalition Government.[9] He lost his seat to the Liberal candidate, finishing in third place. In October 1919 he was awarded 125 pounds in damages for libel against the vice-chairman of the North East Derbyshire Unionist Association.[10] By the time of the 1924 general election Bowden had repaired his ties to the Conservatives, and stood as the party's candidate in North East Derbyshire once more.[11] He was unsuccessful, with the Labour Party holding the seat.[12]
He died suddenly at his home, "Rodney", Belmont Hill, St Albans in October 1927, aged 54.[4][13]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for North East Derbyshire 1914–1918 |
Succeeded by |
