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Rowland Bowen: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|English cricket historian}} | {{short description|English cricket historian}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=April | {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}} | ||
{{Use British English|date=April | {{Use British English|date=April 2018}} | ||
Major '''Rowland Francis Bowen''' (27 February 1916 – 4 September 1978) was a British Army officer and a [[cricket]] researcher, historian and writer. | Major '''Rowland Francis Bowen''' (27 February 1916 – 4 September 1978) was a British Army officer and a [[cricket]] researcher, historian and writer. | ||
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He became involved in cricket research and history in 1958 and, in 1963, he founded the magazine ''The Cricket Quarterly'' which ran until 1970.<ref name="obit">''[[The Cricketer]]'' 1978 – obituary.</ref> He is best known for his book ''Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development throughout the World'' (1970)<ref>Rowland Bowen, ''Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development'', [[Eyre & Spottiswoode]], 1970</ref> which has been described as "indispensable" but also as "spikily controversial and vigorously wide-ranging".<ref>[[Eric Midwinter]], ''[[W G Grace]]: His Life and Times'', [[George Allen and Unwin]], 1981.</ref> In [[John Arlott]]'s review of the book for ''[[Wisden Cricketer's Almanack|Wisden]]'', he commented that it was "unique in my experience as a major work on cricket written from a wide view, in disapproval of the game's establishment and in expectation of the demise of the first-class game".<ref>[[John Arlott]], "Cricket Books, 1970", ''[[Wisden Cricketer's Almanack]]'' 1971, p. 1069.</ref> | He became involved in cricket research and history in 1958 and, in 1963, he founded the magazine ''The Cricket Quarterly'' which ran until 1970.<ref name="obit">''[[The Cricketer]]'' 1978 – obituary.</ref> He is best known for his book ''Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development throughout the World'' (1970)<ref>Rowland Bowen, ''Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development'', [[Eyre & Spottiswoode]], 1970</ref> which has been described as "indispensable" but also as "spikily controversial and vigorously wide-ranging".<ref>[[Eric Midwinter]], ''[[W G Grace]]: His Life and Times'', [[George Allen and Unwin]], 1981.</ref> In [[John Arlott]]'s review of the book for ''[[Wisden Cricketer's Almanack|Wisden]]'', he commented that it was "unique in my experience as a major work on cricket written from a wide view, in disapproval of the game's establishment and in expectation of the demise of the first-class game".<ref>[[John Arlott]], "Cricket Books, 1970", ''[[Wisden Cricketer's Almanack]]'' 1971, p. 1069.</ref> | ||
An [[Eccentricity (behavior)|eccentric]] and difficult man – "Bowen never made an influential friend he couldn’t turn into an avowed adversary"<ref name=RJ/> – Bowen amputated his perfectly healthy right leg below the knee in September 1968.<ref name=RJ>{{cite news |last1=Jackson |first1=Russell |title=Cricket Historian, Writer, Surgeon, Spy: The Mad World of Major Rowland Bowen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jul/22/cricket-historian-writer-surgeon-spy-the-mad-world-of-major-rowland-bowen |access-date=26 October 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=22 July | An [[Eccentricity (behavior)|eccentric]] and difficult man – "Bowen never made an influential friend he couldn’t turn into an avowed adversary"<ref name=RJ/> – Bowen amputated his perfectly healthy right leg below the knee in September 1968.<ref name=RJ>{{cite news |last1=Jackson |first1=Russell |title=Cricket Historian, Writer, Surgeon, Spy: The Mad World of Major Rowland Bowen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jul/22/cricket-historian-writer-surgeon-spy-the-mad-world-of-major-rowland-bowen |access-date=26 October 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=22 July 2017}}</ref> | ||
In 1974 he married a widow, Anne Valerie Jodelko, who had two visually-impaired sons. He died four years later, at [[Buckfastleigh]], [[Devon]], aged 62.<ref name=RJ/> | In 1974 he married a widow, Anne Valerie Jodelko, who had two visually-impaired sons. He died four years later, at [[Buckfastleigh]], [[Devon]], aged 62.<ref name=RJ/> | ||
Latest revision as of 17:35, 5 July 2022
Major Rowland Francis Bowen (27 February 1916 – 4 September 1978) was a British Army officer and a cricket researcher, historian and writer.
Educated at Westminster School, Bowen received an emergency commission in April 1942 into the Indian Army.[1] He spent many years in Egypt, Sudan and India before returning to England in 1951 and joining the Royal Engineers as a Captain, working at the War Office and ultimately being promoted to the rank of Major.[2] He later worked for the Joint Intelligence Bureau, part of Britain's military intelligence establishment.[3]
He became involved in cricket research and history in 1958 and, in 1963, he founded the magazine The Cricket Quarterly which ran until 1970.[2] He is best known for his book Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development throughout the World (1970)[4] which has been described as "indispensable" but also as "spikily controversial and vigorously wide-ranging".[5] In John Arlott's review of the book for Wisden, he commented that it was "unique in my experience as a major work on cricket written from a wide view, in disapproval of the game's establishment and in expectation of the demise of the first-class game".[6]
An eccentric and difficult man – "Bowen never made an influential friend he couldn’t turn into an avowed adversary"[3] – Bowen amputated his perfectly healthy right leg below the knee in September 1968.[3]
In 1974 he married a widow, Anne Valerie Jodelko, who had two visually-impaired sons. He died four years later, at Buckfastleigh, Devon, aged 62.[3]
References[edit]
- ↑ London Gazette 3 July 1942
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Cricketer 1978 – obituary.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Jackson, Russell (22 July 2017). "Cricket Historian, Writer, Surgeon, Spy: The Mad World of Major Rowland Bowen". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
- ↑ Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
- ↑ Eric Midwinter, W G Grace: His Life and Times, George Allen and Unwin, 1981.
- ↑ John Arlott, "Cricket Books, 1970", Wisden Cricketer's Almanack 1971, p. 1069.