Evan Roderic Bowen QC (6 August 1913 – 18 July 2001) was a Welsh lawyer and Liberal Party politician. Bowen was educated at Cardigan County School, University College, Aberystwyth, where he graduated LLB in 1933, and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, where he was awarded a further first-class degree in law in 1935. He was called to the bar at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1937, and became a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

(QC) in 1952. He served in the Army for five years during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, reaching the rank of captain. At the 1945 general election, Bowen was elected at the first attempt as Member of Parliament for

Cardiganshire Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Ab ...

, succeeding Owen Evans. With only a Labour opponent he comfortably held the seat. He was re-elected in the 1950 general election with the largest Liberal majority at that election, despite facing both

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and Labour opposition. During most of the 1950s he was one of a tiny group of only five or six Liberal MPs left at Westminster. He failed to succeed Clement Davies as leader of the Liberal Party in 1956 when Jo Grimond was chosen. Politically, he was on the right of the Liberal Party. During the Suez Crisis, he defended the Conservative Government against opposition "carping criticisms". One of the chief opposition critics of the Government over Suez was his own party leader, Jo Grimond. Safely returned at the 1959 general election, Bowen's seat was regarded as "the most secure Liberal seat in the whole of the United Kingdom". Even so, it was widely believed that Bowen saw his political career as secondary to his work as a lawyer, a belief that was strengthened by his appointment as Recorder of Cardiff in 1950 and Recorder of Merthyr Tydfil in 1953. His legal work in south Wales resulted in very infrequent appearances in the constituency and his attendance and voting record at Westminster was sporadic. Bowen's political career came second to his judicial career although he was a President of the Welsh Liberal Federation and member of its council. He was Recorder of

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

and of Carmarthen. After the 1964 election when Labour's majority in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

was just four seats, he was persuaded by the Government to accept the position of Deputy Speaker. This put the Labour majority in the House up to five. His seat remained safe until the 1964 election when a Conservative candidate intervened and Labour cut his majority to around 2,000. At the 1966 general election, he was defeated by the Labour candidate by just 523 votes. He served as National Insurance Commissioner for Wales, 1967–86, and as president of St Davids University College, Lampeter, 1977–92. One of the libraries and a research centre at Lampeter carry his name and Roderic Bowen is also the name of one of the student halls of residence. In 1971-72 he chaired a governmental committee set up to examine road signs policy in Wales.

References

Sources

* * *''"Grimond's rival: the life and political career of the Liberal MP for Cardiganshire from 1945-1966, Captain E. Roderic Bowen MP (1913–2001)"'' by J Graham Jones, Journal of Liberal History, Issue 34/35, Spring/Summer 2002 *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Roderic 1913 births 2001 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of the Inns of Court School of Law Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Ceredigion Welsh barristers 20th-century King's Counsel