Colonel Sir Henry Ferryman Bowles, 1st Baronet (19 December 1858 – 14 October 1943) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and

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 ...

politician.

Early life and family

He was the eldest son of Henry Carrington Bowles Bowles of Myddelton House,

Bulls Cross Bulls Cross is a road and hamlet in Enfield, England, on the outskirts of north London, forming part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. Although it now lies within the ceremonial county of Greater London, prior to 1965 it was in the historic count ...

, Hertfordshire and Cornelia née Kingdom. He was educated at Harrow School and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in 1881 and a

master of arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in 1884. He was called to the bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1883. He married Florence "Dolly" Broughton of Tunstall Hall,

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

in 1889. In 1895 he moved to

Forty Hall Forty Hall is a manor house of the 1620s in Forty Hill in Enfield, north London. The house, a Grade I listed building, is today used as a museum by the London Borough of Enfield. Within the grounds is the site of the former Tudor Elsyng Palac ...

, near

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, which his father had purchased in the previous year. His younger brother Gussie was the distinguished horticulturalist E.A. Bowles.

Military service

Bowles had a long association with the reserve forces of the

, holding commissions in the

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

and

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

. He was first commissioned as a second lieutenant in the King's Own

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...

Militia in August 1878, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in September 1880. Under the Childers Reforms, the Tower Hamlets militia became the 7th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade in 1881. Bowles was promoted to captain in February 1882. He eventually rose to the rank of major and honorary lieutenant colonel of the battalion. In May 1899 he transferred to the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers R ...

. When the volunteers were reorganised as the Territorial Force in 1908, Bowles was appointed honorary colonel of the successor 7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. During the

First World War 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 ...

he was appointed county commandant for volunteer units in Middlesex, and retired at the end of the conflict with rank of colonel.

Local and parliamentary politics

A Conservative in politics, Bowles was one of the original members of the

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the coun ...

, elected to represent Enfield West in 1889. After 20 years as a councillor he was elevated to the position of county

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

in 1909. He retired from the council in 1936, following 47 years of membership. In March 1889 the sitting Conservative MP for

Viscount Folkestone Earl of Radnor, in the County of Wiltshire, is a title which has been created twice. It was first created in the Peerage of England in 1679 for John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes, a notable political figure of the reign of Charles II. The ea ...

, was elevated to the peerage on the death of his father, the

Earl of Radnor Earl of Radnor, in the County of Wiltshire, is a title which has been created twice. It was first created in the Peerage of England in 1679 for John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes, a notable political figure of the reign of Charles II. The ea ...

. Bowles was unanimously chosen by local Conservative and Unionist Association to defend the seat. The main issue in the by-election campaign was

Irish Home Rule The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...

, and Bowles managed to defeat his

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

opponent by a little over 1,500 votes. He was re-elected at the general elections of

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies fo ...

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

(unopposed) and

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

. At the 1906 general election there was a large swing to the Liberals, and Bowles was defeated by James Branch. Twelve years later Bowles returned to parliament at the 1918 general election, when he was elected as the

Coalition Conservative The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

MP for the redrawn Enfield constituency. He retired from parliament at the next general election in 1922.

Other interests

He was a justice of the peace for Middlesex for over 50 years, and chairman of the Edmonton Petty Sessional Division for 21 years. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Middlesex This is a list of sheriffs of Middlesex. History of the office From c. 1131 to 1889 there was no separate sheriff for the county. By a charter of Henry I the livery of the City of London were given the right to elect two sheriffs of "London an ...

for 1928. In 1936 he retired from the bench. Bowles was an early motoring enthusiast, and was the first president of the Middlesex County Automobile Club retaining the position from 1905 until his death. He was a long serving member of the Court of the

Goldsmiths' Company The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Company and formally titled The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London, is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of Londo ...

Baronetcy and family

In July 1926 he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

, "of

in the

County of Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbouring ...

" for public and political services. He suffered a stroke on 13 October 1943, and died on the following day at Enfield War Memorial Hospital aged 84. His daughter, Wilma Mary Garnault Bowles (d. 1928), married Eustace Parker in 1913. In 1920 Eustace changed his name to Bowles by Royal Licence and his grandson is

Andrew Parker Bowles Brigadier Andrew Henry Parker Bowles (born 27 December 1939) is a retired British Army officer. He is the former husband of Queen Camilla. Early life and family Andrew Parker Bowles was born on 27 December 1939 as the eldest of four children t ...

, former husband of

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the ac ...

.''Armorial Families'', Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, 1929, p. 199 Sir Henry's wife had predeceased him in 1935, and the baronetcy became extinct upon his death.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowles, Henry Ferryman 1858 births 1943 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1918–1922 Members of the Inner Temple Rifle Brigade officers Middlesex Regiment officers Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Deputy Lieutenants of Middlesex High Sheriffs of Middlesex Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Members of Middlesex County Council People educated at Harrow School