Born in Tidworth, Wiltshire on 10 May 1934, Colin John Bowden was first educated at King’s College, Taunton, and then at The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Following in his father’s footsteps, he first enlisted in December 1952 to join the Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire), and was subsequently commissioned the following year. After serving with the Loyals in the UK, Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong for five years, he participated in and passed Parachute Jump Course 482 at RAF Abingdon in Spring 1959. He was mentioned in dispatches the same year for his service in Malaya.

1960 not only saw C.J. Bowden promoted to the rank of Captain alongside his admission into 1 PARA as a Platoon Commander, RSO, but also his marriage to Susannah Mary Ingham at Middleton Cheney in January. C.J. Bowden served with 1 PARA for the next three years in multiple locations including Cyprus and Libya, before returning to the Loyals as an Adjutant in 1963. For the remainder of the 1960s, he was a Company Commander with the Loyals, attended the Staff College, and was appointed to HQ of Middle East Land Forces, the latter of which resulted in him being awarded the MBE in 1968 for his service in Aden. During this time, his first and only son was also born. 

In 1970, he rejoined the Parachute Regiment as the DAA and QMG of HQ 16 Para Bde. He remained in this role for two years before once again rejoining his original Regiment, now named and amalgamated into the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment as the Second-in-Command. 

In 1973, C.J. Bowden was appointed the CO of 2 PARA and in 1976 he was mentioned in dispatches for the second time, this time for his service in Northern Ireland. 1978 saw him join the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment as Deputy Commander and AA and QMG, for which later in 1980 he was awarded the OBE and the DSLJ (said to be the Brunei equivalent of a knighthood). His last decade of service in the 1980s saw him hold roles in the Ministry of Defence and different diplomatic roles in Nicosia and Vienna, and in 1986 he was promoted to Brigadier. 

Brig. Colin John Bowden retired from the Army in 1989, becoming the Wiltshire Representative for Marie Curie Cancer Care, before passing away on 13 September 2016. Bowden was described by Colonel David Benest as “always kind, courteous, good humoured, quizzical, yet firm and fair in his dealings,” and he also had many varied interests, including drawing, painting, and being in the great outdoors.

Written and researched by Raphael Tsang, with information from Airborne Assault Archive Box 2.C.3 27/1/43, RAF Abingdon Jump Records, and Colonel David Benest’s Recollections of Brigadier Colin Bowden