His Independent obituary recalls a nice anecdote:
Bowen displayed great wit in private and was much admired as an after-dinner speaker. Lord Hooson, a former leader of the Liberal Party in Wales, recounts a tale about the first visit the then Lord Chief Justice Parker made to Wales in the 1970s. Bowen remarked to the distinguished guest: "You are about to meet a Welsh jury for the first time. Beware. Welsh juries are against sin - but not dogmatically so."
Bowen actually lost his seat to Labour in 1966 (not 1964) after rescuing Labour when the Speaker died by accepting a deputy speakership position and so preserving Labour's majority.
ReplyDeleteAllegedly the Liberal Party sulked at him ever after so he never received a peerage he might have expected.