Bruce Leonard Bowley (1 January 1922 – 14 May 2014) was an Australian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played 30 first-class matches for

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

between 1947 and 1952, and a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

Early life

The son of South Australian cricketer

Leonard Bowley Edwin Leonard Bowley (27 February 1888 – 22 April 1963) was an Australian cricketer who played seven first-class matches for South Australia between 1922/23 and 1924/25.Page, p. 8. Early sporting career Born in Sevenhill, near Clare, South ...

,Page, p. 8. and Minnie (née Trestrail), Bowley was born at Blyth Private Hospital in

Blyth, South Australia Blyth is a small town in the Mid North of South Australia, located west of the renowned Clare Valley. The town is located on the lands of the Kaurna people, the indigenous people who lived there before European settlement. It has a population of ...

. Bowley's family moved to Adelaide soon after his birth and Bowley made his Adelaide Grade debut (the level below first-class cricket in South Australia) in 1938/39 aged 16 for the South Australian Colts team. While with the Colts, Bowley was coached by former

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

cricketers

Nip Pellew Clarence Everard "Nip" Pellew (21 September 1893 – 9 May 1981) was an Australian cricketer who played in 10 Test matches from 1920 to 1921. Pellew was also a leading Australian rules footballer who, due to permit problems, was only allowed ...

and

Clarrie Grimmett Clarence Victor "Clarrie" Grimmett (25 December 1891 – 2 May 1980) was a New Zealand-born Australian cricketer. He is thought by many to be one of the finest early spin bowlers, and usually credited as the developer of the flipper. Early li ...

.Blackburn, p. 43. Bowley then moved to

Kensington Cricket Club The Kensington District Cricket Club ("The Browns") is a semi-professional cricket club in Adelaide, South Australia. It competes in the South Australian Grade Cricket League, which is administered by the South Australian Cricket Association (SAC ...

, where his father had played. Bowley's father was a house painter and Bowley assisted him on jobs, including at

Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

's house.

World War II

Following the outbreak of war, Bowley enlisted in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) on 25 June 1940, and in September 1940 was stationed in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, serving in the No. 21 Wirraway fighter squadron in the

Malayan Campaign The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles between ...

Grant, p. 47. and was in

when it fell to the Japanese in 1942. During this time, both in and out of captivity, Bowley continued to play cricket, including for a local team in the Malayan cricket season and one match for Australian Services against South Australia at the

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

in December 1942, where he scored 56 against an attack that included

and

Reginald Craig Reginald Jack Craig (3 August 1916 – 17 April 1985) was an Australian cricketer. He played thirty-one first-class matches for South Australia between 1945/46 and 1950/51. See also * List of South Australian representative cricketers This ...

. Bowley reached the rank of Sergeant by the time of his discharge on 19 October 1945. While in Malaya, Bowley's team played the

Singapore Cricket Club The Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) is one of the premier sports and social clubs in Singapore. Its clubhouse is located on Connaught Drive on the south end of the Padang in Singapore's central business district. History The SCC was estab ...

and Bowley was admonished by an English officer for using the same change rooms as his non-white team members. He refused to use separate change rooms and while he was awarded honorary membership of the all-white Singapore Cricket Club for his cricketing prowess, Bowley preferred to socialise with his teammates. During this time, Bowley became friends with the Malaya born

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

Lall Singh Lall Singh ( pa, ਲਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ, Lāla sigha; 16 December 1909 – 19 November 1985) was an early Indian Test cricketer. Cricket career Lall Singh, whose full name was Lall Singh Gill, was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya on 16 Decembe ...

. They remained close for many years and Bowley stayed with Lall in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

for the 1975 Hockey World Cup.

First-class career

Following his return to Australia, Bowley joined East Torrens Cricket Club, Sturt before returning to Kensington in 1954/55 as captain-coach until his retirement at the end of the 1958/59 season. An all-rounder, Bowley made his first-class debut for

on 20 February 1948 against

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

, scoring one and nine and going wicketless. Bowley made his highest first-class score of 169 against the touring

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, in December 1951, the highest score made against the West Indian team during the tour. Bowley opened the batting and scored very slowly at first, reaching his century in 283 minutes but thereafter scoring a run a minute, leading long time cricket writer Johnnie Moyes to state that Bowley had "played a curious innings"Moyes, p. 84. Later in the 1951/52 season, Bowley was batting for South Australia against

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

when, he was struck on the head by a bouncer from fast bowler

Alan Walker Alan Olav Walker (born 24 August 1997) is a British-born Norwegian music producer and DJ primarily known for the critically acclaimed single " Faded" (2015), which was certified platinum in 14 countries. He has also made several songs including ...

. Bowley was taken to hospital for tests and

Richie Benaud Richard Benaud (; 6 October 1930 – 10 April 2015) was an Australian cricketer who, after his retirement from international cricket in 1964, became a highly regarded commentator on the game. Benaud was a Test cricket all-rounder, blending l ...

later wrote that he was shaken by the incident as he fielding close to Bowley and "was on the spot as he (Bowley) reeled away from the crease and fell." Bowley played his final first-class match in February 1952 against Victoria at the MCG, scoring 18 and zero and taking two wickets for 144 runs. Author Kevin Blackburn suggests that Bowley may have played Test cricket if not for the war. Bowley was described as "by nature a stroke-maker with a tendency to throw away his wicket through a sudden ambition to hit the bright lights" while ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' wrote of his bowling, "although his long run-up suggested more pace than he delivered, he was also a handy new-ball bowler."

Hockey career

Bowley played for Burnside Hockey Club and served as President and Vice Patron of the South Australian Hockey Association, and was made a Life Member. In addition to his father playing first-class cricket, Bowley's aunt married

er Arthur Richardson and Bowley's son Ian played for and coached Kensington.Sando, p. 74. Bowley was awarded a

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(OAM) in 1993 for his service to hockey and cricket as a player, coach and administrator.

References

Sources

* Benaud, R. (2010) ''Over But Not Out'', Hatchette UK:London. . * Blackburn, K. (2012) ''The sportsmen of Changi'', University of New South Wales Press: Sydney. . * Grant, L. (2014) ''Australian Soldiers in Asia-Pacific in World War II'', New South: Sydney. . * Moyes, A.G. (1952) ''With the West Indies in Australia 1951-52'', Angus and Robertson: Sydney. * Page, R. (1984) ''South Australian Cricketers 1877-1984'', Association of Cricket Statisticians: Retford, Nottinghamshire. * Sando, G. (1997) ''Grass Roots'', South Australian Cricket Association: Adelaide. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowley, Bruce 1922 births 2014 deaths Australian cricketers South Australia cricketers Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force airmen Australian prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Cricketers from Adelaide