Captain Geoffrey V S  Bowlby and Lieut Lionel S Bowlby

St Lawrence, Marston St Lawrence, Northamptonshire, OX17 2DA

Captain G V S  Bowlby

Details on cross (Text content of cross):

Captain G V S  Bowlby

Royal Horse Guards

13-5-15

 Memorial Cross

Text type (e.g. hand-written, GRU tags, carved): GRU

Cross dimensions (millimetres please) N/A

Other information

Mounting to wall: Screwed to wall

Condition (cracked, paint peeling, woodwork, damage etc): Showing its age but intact.

Notes and observations: (optional)

Positioned next to his brother’s cross.

From https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/910144/bowlby,-geoffrey-vaux-salvin/

Captain

BOWLBY, GEOFFREY VAUX SALVIN

Died 13/05/1915

Royal Horse Guards

Son of Mrs. Salvin Bowlby, of 56, Lowndes Square, London husband of The Hon. Mrs. Geoffrey Bowlby, of Croughton House, Brackley, Northants. His brother Lionel Henry Salvin Bowlby also fell.

Bowlby has a private memorial at Ypres on the Bellewaarde Ridge.

Lieut Lionel S Bowlby

Details on cross (Text content of cross):

Killed in action June 6th 1914

In memory of

Lieut Lionel S Bowlby Royal Scots Greys

Motif

Text type (e.g. hand-written, GRU tags, carved): Painted

Cross dimensions (millimetres please) N/A

Other information

Mounting to wall: Screwed to wall

Finish (varnish, paint, oiled, unfinished etc): white paint

Condition (cracked, paint peeling, woodwork, damage etc): Paint cracked and damaged but cross intact.

Notes and observations: 

From – https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/483864/bowlby,-lionel-henry-salvin/

Lieutenant

BOWLBY, LIONEL HENRY SALVIN

Died 04/06/1916

Aged 24

2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys)

Son of Edward Salvin Bowlby and Elizabeth Vans Bowlby, of Gilston Park, Harlow, Essex. His brother Geoffrey Vaux Salvin Bowlby also fell.

The Bowlby crosses.

Lionel Bowlby, has a second cross in Eastwick (Herts). It seems they are here because their widowed mother moved from Gilston Manor in Herts to Marston and presumably arranged for the crosses to be placed in the church together with a memorial in their honour.  I have now found that Geoffrey has a second cross in Bletchingdon (on your list but not yet surveyed) which was where his wife’s family came from.

Geoffrey’s Marston cross is fairly standard but both of Lionel’s seem to be quite ornate-the one at Eastwick is a celtic cross.  Both of Lionel’s have GRU markers and have obviously seen exposure outside so they would appear to be originals not replicas.  Seems odd that they would have two each though.

Also Lionel appears on two parish memorials.  I’m not sure what constitutes a ‘man of this parish’  He seems to have gone straight to Sandhurst from school then joined his regiment so although he was born and raised in Gilston I’m not sure he had a permanent residence.  As I mention I believe the reason they are here is due to their mother living in the village.  The war memorial here seems to be a relatively modern one given it lists both wars.

We have now found that Geoffrey has a second cross in Bletchingdon

Mark and Janet Ratcliff

Survey and photographs courtesy of: Janet and Mark Ratcliff with additional photos from John Vigar

Date of survey: 8/8/17