Outline of the career of Richard Bowen
Richard (Dickie) Bowen was born in Belgravia, London in 1926. His father was English and his mother was from Wexford, Ireland. His early training was in bacteriology and, after serving in the army for nearly four years, he worked as a laboratory technician. Generally physically active, he had become a proficient skier during his military service and on his return to London Bowen was keen to find an occupation to maintain and improve his physical fitness. In January 1949, on the recommendation of a colleague, he took up judo and joined the Budokwai, the UK's oldest judo club, where he received expert instruction from Gunji Koizumi, Percy Sekine, Trevor P. Leggett and Teizo Kawamura.
In 1956 Bowen was selected to represent Britain at the 1st World Judo Championships, an open weight competition held in Japan. He subsequently spent three and a half years training at the Kodokan in Tokyo. As part of the Kodokan’s Kenshusei, an elite group of mostly Japanese judoka, including Matsushita and Watanabe, Bowen was regularly taught by Daigo, Osawa and Kawamura and received occasional tuition from Mifune, Samura and Kotani.
Bowen’s close, life-time association with the Budokwai, as a judoka and instructor, and as a committee member and Vice-President, continued when he returned to the UK. He also became actively involved with the British Judo Association (BJA).
From the guide to the Catalogue of the papers and correspondence of Richard Bowen, ca 1873/2005, (University of Bath Library)
