Lieutenant-Colonel George Robert Harland Bowden (1873 – 10 October 1927) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

and Conservative Party politician. Born in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, at the age of 15 he was

apprenticed Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

Lambton Collieries Lambton Collieries was a private company, privately owned colliery and coal mining company, based in County Durham, England. History The name derives from Lambton Castle, the ancestral family home of the Lambton family. With coal having been ex ...

whilst attending classes at

Durham College of Science The Colleges of Durham University are residential colleges that are the primary source of accommodation and support services for undergraduates and postgraduates at Durham University, as well as providing a focus for social, cultural and sporting ...

. In 1890 he moved to South Wales as improver for the ironworks at

Tondu Tondu ( en, Black Meadow) is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, located about north of the town of Bridgend, in the community of Ynysawdre. Tondu lies on the A4063 from Bridgend to Maesteg, and was established in the late 18th cent ...

. In 1891 he became assistant engineer and chief draughtsman at

Cyfarthfa Ironworks The Cyfarthfa Ironworks were major 18th- and 19th-century ironworks in Cyfarthfa, on the north-western edge of Merthyr Tydfil, in South West Wales. The beginning The Cyfarthfa works were begun in 1765 by Anthony Bacon (by then a merchant in L ...

, Merthyr Tydfil. 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. In 1908 he became a Member of the

Institute of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

. In 1907 Bowden was granted a

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commission in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

. 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 North East Derbyshire is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. It borders the districts of Chesterfield, Bolsover, Amber Valley and Derbyshire Dales in Derbyshire, and Sheffield and Rotherham in South Yorkshire. The populatio ...

. In April 1914 the sitting Labour Party member of parliament for North East Derbyshire died, causing a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. The by-election was held on 20 May, and Bowden was elected to the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

, gaining the seat for the Conservatives with a majority of 314 votes. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Bowden became commanding officer of 17th (Empire) Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers, a war-formed unit. 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 Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

candidate who had the support of the Coalition Government. 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. 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. He was unsuccessful, with the Labour Party holding the seat. He died suddenly at his home, "Rodney", Belmont Hill, St Albans in October 1927, aged 54.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowden, Harland 1873 births 1927 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Derbyshire UK MPs 1910–1918 Royal Fusiliers officers Royal Artillery officers English mechanical engineers