Patrick Gower (civil servant) explained

Honorific-Prefix:Sir
Office:Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
Term Start:1922
Term End:1928
Predecessor:Sir Edward Grigg
Successor:Robert Vansittart
Alongside:Ronald Waterhouse
Birth Name:Robert Patrick Malcolm Gower
Birth Date:18 August 1887
Birth Place:Cardigan, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Death Place:Henley, Oxfordshire, England
Relations:Sir Robert Gower
Children:2
Education:Marlborough College
Alma Mater:Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Sir Robert Patrick Malcolm Gower (18 August 1887 – 31 August 1964) was a British civil servant who served as the Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister between 1922 and 1928.

Early life

Patrick Gower was born in Cardigan, Pembrokeshire,[1] the younger son of Captain Erasmus Gower of Pembrokeshire. He was educated at Marlborough College and gained a scholarship to Emmanuel College, Cambridge.[2]

Career

Gower served as Private Secretary to Austen Chamberlain as Chancellor of the Exchequer and as Lord Privy Seal, from 1919 to 1922.[3] He served as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, during which time he served three different prime ministers; Bonar Law; Stanley Baldwin; and Ramsay MacDonald, from 1922 to 1928.[4] [5] After leaving 10 Downing Street, Gower served as Chief Press Officer to the Conservative Party from 1929 to 1939.[6] In 1939 he left Whitehall to become chairman of advertising firm Charles F. Higham, where he remained until retirement.[7]

He was awarded an Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1922 New Years Honours list;[8] a Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in the 1923 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours;[9] and was knighted (KBE) for services to the Prime Minister. in the 1924 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours.[10]

Personal life

He married Nancy Barkley in 1913, with whom he had one son and one daughter. Upon her death in 1940 he remarried in March 1941 to H. Margaret Hawdon. He died at home in Henley, Oxfordshire, on 31 August 1964.

References


alongside Ronald Waterhouse

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Index entry. 16 April 2023. FreeBMD. ONS.
  2. Web site: Gower, Sir (Robert) Patrick (Malcolm), (18 Aug. 1887–31 Aug. 1964), President of Charles F. Higham Ltd, since 1956 (Chairman, 1935–56). 2021-04-03. WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. en. 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u53298. 978-0-19-954089-1.
  3. Book: Churchill. Randolph Spencer. Winston S. Churchill. Gilbert. Martin. 1966. Houghton Mifflin. 978-0-395-25104-1. en.
  4. Book: Jones, Thomas. Whitehall Diary. 1969. Oxford U.P.. en.
  5. Book: The Economist. 1928. Economist Newspaper Limited. en.
  6. Book: The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art. 1928. Saturday Review. en.
  7. News: 1 September 1964. OBITUARY: Sir Patrick Gower. 12. The Times. 13 February 2022.
  8. Web site: Page 10713 Supplement 32563, 30 December 1921 London Gazette The Gazette. 2022-02-13. www.thegazette.co.uk.
  9. Web site: Page 3739 Supplement 32827, 25 May 1923 London Gazette The Gazette. 2022-02-13. www.thegazette.co.uk.
  10. Web site: Page 1263 Supplement 32906, 8 February 1924 London Gazette The Gazette. 2022-02-13. www.thegazette.co.uk.