Richard Bowen Collection
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A collection of the papers and correspondence of Richard Bowen (1926-2005), judoka and sports historian. Richard (Dickie) Bowen was born in Belgravia, London in 1926. His early training was in bacteriology and, after serving in the army for nearly four years, he worked as a laboratory technician. In January 1949 he took up judo and joined the Budokwai, the UK's oldest 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 years training at the Kodokan in Tokyo. On his return to England, Bowen's close association with the Budokwai, both as a judoka and as a committee member and Vice-President, continued. He also became actively involved with the British Judo Association. The collection contains a wide range of material relating to Bowen's extensive research into the origins and history of British judo and its early exponents in preparation for a book on the subject. It includes posters, tournament and display programmes, minutes of meetings, working drafts, correspondence and photos assembled from various sources. Bowen's comprehensive collection of judo-related books and journals is also held in the Library. A catalogue providing contents details of the Bowen Collection is avaliable in PDF format. Size: 82 boxes (approx). |
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