Fred Bowerbank

Major-General

Sir Fred Thompson Bowerbank

KBE
Born30 April 1880
Penrith, Cumberland, England
Died25 August 1960 (aged 80)
Wellington, New Zealand
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh

Major General Sir Fred Thompson Bowerbank KBE KStJ ED (30 April 1880 – 25 August 1960) was Director-General of Medical Services for the New Zealand Army and Air Force between 1939 and 1947.[1][2] He served as Honorary Physician to the Governor-General of New Zealand from 1935 to 1939, and as Honorary Physician to King George VI between 1940 and 1948.[2]

Bowerbank was made KBE in 1946,[3] and in the same year a Grand Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau for his service to the Netherlands during World War II.[2] For his services to first-aid organizations, he was made a Knight of Grace of the Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem.[2]

Life

Fred Thompson Bowerbank was born in Penrith, Cumberland, the son of Joseph Bowerbank and his wife Mary (née Farrer).[4] He was educated at Penrith High School and the University of Edinburgh where he graduated M.B. and Ch.B. in 1904.[2] In 1907 he emigrated to New Zealand with his young wife.[2]

At the outbreak of World War I, Bowerbank enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.[5] He served in the 1st New Zealand Expeditionary Force and was mentioned five times in dispatches and, for his dedication to service, was made OBE in 1917.[2]

For most of his professional life, Bowerbank was consulting cardiologist to the Wellington Hospital, New Zealand.[2] Bowerbank gained an MD from the University of Edinburgh in 1917, with a thesis on intestinal disease in the New Zealand expeditionary force in Egypt and the Dardanelles.[6] He was elected a Member of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1925 and a Fellow in 1929.[2]

In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.[7] He served as Honorary Physician to the Governor-General of New Zealand from 1935 to 1939, and as Honorary Physician to King George VI between 1940 and 1948.[2]

Bowerbank was Chief Medical Officer of the RNZAF from 1937 to 1939 and served as Director-General of Medical Services for the New Zealand Army and Air Force between 1939 and 1947.[8] Bowerbank was made KBE in 1946,[3] and in the same year a Grand Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau for his service to the Netherlands during World War II.[2] For his services to first-aid organizations, he was made a Knight of Grace of the Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem.[2] In 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.[9]

Bowerbank married Maud Pick in 1907.[2] He died in Wellington, New Zealand, on 25 August 1960.[2] He was the great uncle of Christopher Bowerbank.[10][11]

Publication

  • A Doctor's Story, by Sir Fred Bowerbank. Published by Harry H. Tombs Limited, The Wingfield Press, Wellington, 1958[10]

References

  1. ^ Obituary in The Times, Sir Fred Thompson Bowerbank, A Distinguished Cardiologist, August 26, 1960, p.13
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Obituary in the British Medical Journal, September 24, 1960, p.952
  3. ^ a b https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37417/page/203/data.pdf The London Gazette, TUESDAY 1 JANUARY, Issue 37417, p. 203
  4. ^ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Bowerbank, Fred Thompson". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  5. ^ Beasley, A. W. "Fred Thompson Bowerbank". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  6. ^ T., Bowerbank, Fred (1917). Some observations upon intestinal disease in the New Zealand expeditionary force in Egypt and the Dardanelles, with special reference to the enterica groups, from July 1915 to March 1916 (MD). University of Edinburgh. hdl:1842/20160.{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Official jubilee medals". Evening Post. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Biography of Major-General Sir Fred Thompson Bowerbank (1880 – 1960), New Zealand". www.generals.dk. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Coronation Medal" (PDF). Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette. No. 37. 3 July 1953. pp. 1021–1035. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  10. ^ a b Bowerbank, Fred (21 June 2019). A doctor's story. Tombs. OCLC 11358841.
  11. ^ "Ancestry® - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 21 June 2019.