Herbert Bowden, Baron Aylestone

Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Member of the House of Lords; Lord Temporal
	In office; 3 November 1967 – 30 April 1994 ; Life Peerage
Member of Parliament ; for Leicester South West; Leicester South (1945–1950)
	In office; 5 July 1945 – 2 November 1967
Preceded by	Charles Waterhouse
Succeeded by	Tom Boardman
Personal details
Born	20 January 1905; 'Continuing' SDP (1988–90); Liberal Democrats (1992–94)
Spouses	; Louisa Brown (m. 1928; died 1992) ; Vicki Clayton (m. 1993)

Herbert William Bowden, Baron Aylestone,

PC (20 January 1905 – 30 April 1994) was a British Labour politician

.

Early life

Born in Cardiff, Wales,^[1] Bowden was the son of Herbert Bowden, a baker, and his wife Henrietta (née Gould). Bowden later recalled that "I was born with the smell of bread in my nostrils and lived around the bakehouses. I always had one thought in mind – never to be employed in them."^[2] After completing elementary school he opened a tobacconist's shop, but following the collapse of his business during the Great Depression he left Cardiff to look for work elsewhere, eventually becoming a radio salesman in Leicester.^[1]

Political career

Bowden had been a member of the

Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1953 Coronation Honours.^[3]

Bowden was regarded as being on the right of the Labour Party, and supported

Privy Counsellor in 1962. In 1966, he was moved to the new post of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs, serving until 1967. On 1 September 1967 he succeeded Lord Hill as chairman of the Independent Television Authority.^[5]

On 20 September 1967, Bowden was created a

'continuing' SDP rather than support the merger with the Liberals. When the Owenite rump itself dissolved two years later, Aylestone sat in the Lords as an 'Independent Social Democrat' before joining the Liberal Democrats in 1992.^[4]^[9]

Death

Lord Aylestone died in 1994, aged 89, in Worthing, Sussex, and was survived by his second wife and a daughter from his first marriage.^[1]^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d David Lewis Jones (1 June 2011). "Bowden, Herbert William, Baron Aylestone (1905-1994), politician". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Obituaries: Lord Aylestone", Daily Telegraph, 2 May 1994, p. 21.
^ "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1953. p. 2954.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Obituaries: Lord Aylestone", The Times, 2 May 1994, p. 17.
^ "Lord Hill's successor Herbert Bowden new Chairman of ITA". The Stage and Television Today. No. 445. 31 August 1967. p. 9. Retrieved 10 July 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "No. 44412". The London Gazette. 21 September 1967. p. 10287.
^ "No. 46593". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 1975. p. 7390.
^
Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 2023 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership
required.)

^ Martin Linton, "Top sports events 'must stay with BBC and ITV': Lords debate", The Guardian, 6 June 1990, p. 6.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Charles Waterhouse	Member of Parliament for Leicester South 1945–1950	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Leicester South West 1950–1967	Succeeded by Tom Boardman
Political offices
Preceded by Quintin Hogg	Lord President of the Council 1964–1966	Succeeded by Richard Crossman
Preceded by Selwyn Lloyd	Leader of the House of Commons 1964–1966	Succeeded by Richard Crossman
Preceded by Frederick Lee as Secretary of State for the Colonies	Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs 1966–1967	Succeeded by George Morgan Thomson
Preceded by Arthur Bottomley as Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations	Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs 1966–1967	Succeeded by George Morgan Thomson
Media offices
Preceded by Charles Hill	Chairman of the Independent Television Authority 1967–1972	ITA became the IBA
New title	Chairman of the Independent Broadcasting Authority 1972–1975	Succeeded by Bridget Plowden

[DWB-1] David Lewis Jones (1 June 2011). "Bowden, Herbert William, Baron Aylestone (1905-1994), politician". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 6 June 2022.

[Telegraphobit-2] "Obituaries: Lord Aylestone", Daily Telegraph, 2 May 1994, p. 21.

[3] "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1953. p. 2954.

[Timesobit-4] "Obituaries: Lord Aylestone", The Times, 2 May 1994, p. 17.

[5] "Lord Hill's successor Herbert Bowden new Chairman of ITA". The Stage and Television Today. No. 445. 31 August 1967. p. 9. Retrieved 10 July 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[6] "No. 44412". The London Gazette. 21 September 1967. p. 10287.

[7] "No. 46593". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 1975. p. 7390.

[WW-8] 
Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 2023 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership
required.)

[9] Martin Linton, "Top sports events 'must stay with BBC and ITV': Lords debate", The Guardian, 6 June 1990, p. 6.

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