Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) Dawson Bowman

Royal Field Artillery and Royal Garrison Artillery

Born 1880 Patterdale. Died 19th January 1968 aged 87

Son of Joseph (“Hunty”) Bowman and his wife Mary (nee Martin) from Grassthwaite How Patterdale.

Husband of Alexandrina Victoria Lauder

Beloved Father and Grandfather

Dawson Bowman was born in 1880, and baptised at Patterdale Church on 7th November 1880. He was the son of the famous Joe “Hunty” Bowman and his wife Mary (nee Martin from Matterdale). Joe was working at Greenside Mine when in 1879, he was made of Hunstman of the Ullswater Foxhounds, which had been formed in 1873 when the Patterdale and Matterdale hunts were joined. He held this position, with a few short interruptions until 1924. Joe and his family were living at Grassthwaite How just up from the kennels,  and next to the Pattinson Family.  Joe deserves a write up himself at some point - as well as being a famous huntsman (with his own well know hunting song) he was an early Border Terrier breeder, and he was also the first person to cross up a blue-black Border Terrier with a black and tan Fell Terrier (also called a working Lakeland) to create what he called a Patterdale Terrier. Three of Joe Bowman's sons appear on the Glenridding Village Hall Roll of Honour having served in World War One - Dawson, John and James.

Dawson was one of 9 children alongside Annie (born around 1874), Thomas (1876), Matthew (1878), Joseph (1879), Martin (1883), Mary Elizabeth (1885), John (1888), and James Little (1890). After attending school in Patterdale Dawson joined the army and by 1901 he was a 20 year old gunner in the artillery stationed at St Andrews Barracks Northumberland. On 28th Feb 1906 Dawson married Alexandrina Victoria Lauder (aged 27), at St Brides Church, Partick. By 1911 Dawson had been promoted to Sergeant and was serving with the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) in India.

We know little about his service in World War One except what we can glean from his Medal Record card. From this it looks as though he started as a BQMS in the Royal Field Artillery, (Battery Quarter Master Sergeant), gained promotion to Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery (possibly 15th June or 23rd July 1915), and then was made a Captain in the RFA. He served in the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) who were involved in the ill fated Gallipoli Campaign and was also based in Egypt. It is there that his grandson Jim thinks the wonderful photo below was taken.

On looking at some of the photos of Dawson I noticed one where he is on a beach with hounds. It is documented that there was a pack of hounds in Egypt so possibly with his background he may well have been involved with the pack. I know he did pig sticking because he had quite a large scar above his right knee as a result of coming off his horse and the pig got a little of it’s own back.

After the war it looks as if Dawson and his wife (at least initially) returned to Patterdale, with the address listed on the Medal Index Card as Causeway Cottage (next to Greenbank Farm in Patterdale), and then the Punchbowl Hotel in Askham.

They settled in Kelso in Scotland, and were regular attendees at the Ullswater Hunt, where according to Mayson Wear (who lives in Glenridding and is the son of Joe Wear who succeeded Joe Bowman as master of the Ullswater Foxhounds) he was known as "Kelso Bowman" and would wear a kilt and Balmoral Bonnett. Dawson’s grandson Jim never remembers seeing him in a kilt but remembers the Balmoral well! He was employed in Scotland between the wars, and during World War Two he served with the 4th Scottish Border Battalion of the Home Guard, and was an "acting" Lieutenant Colonel from 1st Feb 1941 (which is probably when the photo below, again generously provided by his grandson Jim, was taken)

He is mentioned again as a visitor to the Ullswater Sheepdog Trials in 1947 in a Cumberland Herald Report "The open stakes at Ullswater sheepdog trials were won by Mr. G. A. Leslie, Portinscale, with his Gaelic-named dog, Ferach. Spectators included Major Dawson Bowman, Kelso, son of the famous Joe ("Hunty") Bowman, who was huntsman of the Ullswater pack for 46 years."

His father Joe died in 1940 and is buried in Patterdale Churchyard. Dawson himself died on the 19th January 1968 - a devoted father and grandfather.  We are grateful to his grandson Jim and his family for providing the information and wonderful photos on him and his brothers. Dawson was featured in the Cumberland & Westmorland Herald article profiling the work of this project in May 2015.

Above Dawson Bowman with hounds, possibly in Egypt in WWI and above Dawson in World War Two (Pictures courtesy of his grandson Jim Bowman)

Private John Bowman

Royal Field Artillery

Born 1887 Patterdale.

Son of Joseph (“Hunty”) Bowman and his wife Mary (nee Martin) from Grassthwaite How Patterdale.

Beloved Husband Father and Grandfather

John Bowman was born at the end of 1887 and baptised at Patterdale Church on New Years Day 1888. He was the son of the famous Joe “Hunty” Bowman and his wife Mary (nee Martin from Matterdale). His name appears on the Glenridding Village Hall Roll of Honour alongside his brothers Dawson and James. The Glenridding Village Hall Roll of Honour lists him as having served in the “RAF” but having seen the photo from his family it is almost certain that this is a mistake and he actually served with the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) like his brother Dawson.

His grandson Carl says that he did serve in France during the war as his mum can remember him coming home on leave and having to have the lice removed from his uniform before he could come into the house! We are currently awaiting more information on John from his family, and are grateful for their support.

Private James (Jimmy) Little Bowman

Royal Air Force

Born 19th June 1890 Patterdale. Died Wisconsin 1965

Son of Joseph (“Hunty”) Bowman and his wife Mary (nee Martin) from Grassthwaite How Patterdale.

Beloved Husband Father and Grandfather

James was born on 19th June 1890, and baptised at Patterdale Church on the 31st August. He was the son of the famous Joe “Hunty” Bowman and his wife Mary (nee Martin from Matterdale). His name appears on the Glenridding Village Hall Roll of Honour alongside his brothers Dawson and John. We are currently awaiting more information on James from his family. In the meantime this is the information we currently have.

After finishing school in Patterdale, James trained as a stonemason, and by 1911 was working as a Stonemason in Kendal. On the 26th June 1914 he sailed from Liverpool aboard the SS Empress of Britain to Quebec in Canada, arriving on the 3rd July 1914. He was travelling with his school friend Joseph (Joe) Laurence Graham. They moved to Wisconsin in America and we have his USA Military Draft Registration Card from June 5th 1917, stating that he was a self-employed single “Brick Mason and Plasterer”.  It is possible that at this time they also met up with another friend from Patterdale, Ernest William Marr, who had travelled to America with his brother Leonard Stephen Marr, who was born in the same year as Jimmy and Joe. Again we know nothing of his service in WWI other than the listing on the Glenridding Village Hall Roll of Honour.

We know that by 1920 he was back in Wisconsin, and had married Henrietta Alton Calvert and had a one year old son called Joseph. By 1930 two other children had arrived, Mary (9) and Thomas (6). He was in business for a time with Joe Graham, who married Henrietta’s sister Ida.

During World War Two he registered for service again, despite being 51, and Eddie Pool seems to think he served in some capacity in the Air Force again.  We know that he died on the 22nd Feb 1965 and is buried at the United Methodist Church Cemetery, Benton, Lafayette County, Wisconsin. His wife Henrietta died on the 23rd July 1968. We are grateful in advance to his grand daughter Helen for any information she is able. to provide.

In terms of the other brothers, Matthew, the second oldest son, was living with his grandparents in Dockray in 1891 (aged just 13) and working as a farm servant. By 1911 he had married Agnes Knowles (they married on 2nd April 1904) and were living in Kirkburton in Yorkshire where Matthew was working as a stonemason. Glenn, Matthew’s grandson, is not sure what Matthew did in WWI but it is quite possible that he served as the Glenridding Roll of Honour is littered with inaccuracies! We believe that Matthew died in December 1957 at the age of 79.

By 1901 Martin was married (to Sarah) and working as a Banksman at a colliery in Lancashire. Sarah was a cotton weaver. They emigrated to Canada soon after and in 1916 were living in Macleod, Alberta, with their children Joseph W, mary, Lilian, James M, Thomas and Dorothy E. They then moved again to the US (we think in 1923), and by 1930 were living in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, with 2 new children as well, John and Edward, as well as 20 year old Reginald Lawrence. Again it is possible Martin served in the war and his grand daughter, who lives in Chicago knows that he registered for service in World War Two. We are grateful to her for the information.

A photo of the children at Patterdale School in 1889, kindly given to us by the family of Dawson Bowman, which probably includes at least 4 of the Bowman siblings, Dawson,  Matthew, Joseph ,  and Martin. We have tried to identify as many of them as possible on our Patterdale School Then and Now page.

Joe Bowman. Father of Dawson, John and James.

Henrietta Bowman - Jimmy's wife