Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

An Officer of Colonel Baillie’s Detachment, Memoirs of the War in Asia from 1780 to 1784, including A Narrative of the Imprisonment and Sufferings of Our Officers and Soldiers (London, 1789, 2nd edition), 475pp., with pasted down ink inscription from the author, ‘Colonel Bowzer has much pleasure in presenting to his worthy friend R. Holroyd this book, Datchet lawn, near Windsor, February 24 1809’, old green binding with leather spine and corners, gilt titles, front cover detached from spine, worn overall but contents good, scarce £80-100

Thomas Bowzer was born at Kirkby Thore, Westmorland, in 1748, and was educated at Appleby Grammar School.

Entering the Honourable East India Company’s Army aged 24 years, he was present at the taking of Tanjore in 1773, was for three years engaged in the capture of the forts in the north Sircars, and was present in the Guntur Sircar campaign in 1779.

In the following year he served as a Lieutenant in Sir Hector Munro’s army and, sent to the assistance of Colonel Baillie’s force, was taken prisoner by Hyder Ali in the disastrous action at Perambakham that September. Confined at Seringapatam for three years and eight months, and for most of that time in leg irons, he was finally released in 1784 - hence his subsequent account of those difficult times, Memoirs of the War in Asia 1780-1784, which was first published in 1788.

Back in India, following extended furlough, he was present at the storming of Dindigul in 1792, and was given command of a Sepoy Battalion by Cornwallis. Subsequently present at the reduction of Ceylon in 1796, when he was present at the taking of forts Calpentein and Colombo, Bowzer afterwards served under Braithwaite at the siege of Pondicherry. And with memories of his earlier incarceration no doubt to the fore, he was present at the final storming and capture of Seringapatam in May 1799. Having then taken command of a mixed force at Hyderabad, he joined Colonel Arthur Wellesley in operations against Doondia Waugh, prior to being embarked on furlough for England in 1803.

Bowzer returned to India in 1820, took command of the Mysore Division and was temporarily C. in C. of the Madras Army in 1824-26. He was placed on the Retired List as a Major-General and K.C.B. in the latter year, and died in 1833.