A Ministry of Defence press release last year: “It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Major James Joshua Bowman, Lieutenant Neal Turkington and Corporal Arjun Purja Pun from 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles were killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday July 13 2010. The three soldiers, serving as part of Combined Force Nahr-e Saraj (South), were killed in a suspected premeditated attack by a member of the Afghan National Army.”
James ‘Josh’ Bowman was the son of John Bowman (2 North, 1959) and the brother of Louisa (Loveday, 1996). What could make family and friends prouder than to read this tribute from a fellow officer, a Gurkha, Captain Rajeshkumar Gurung:
“OC Sahib, I feel very privileged to have known you and worked with you. It is almost a year that I have known you; you were the most gentle person I have worked with during my 20 years of service with the Gurkhas. I will always remember you as a kind person, understanding, professional solder and especially very brave under fire.
“Sahib, we have lost a best friend and the bravest Gurkha officer, we will always be proud to say that Bowman Sahib was our finest Officer Commanding. You have touched the life of every single person in A (Delhi) Company; Sahib, every morning I look at the eyes of our soldiers I can clearly see they have simply lost their hero.”
On Saturday 18 June, in memory of James and to raise sponsorship for his preferred charities, Louisa and three others will compete in the Race Across America, an annual 9-day non-stop endurance race in which cyclists race 3000 miles from the west coast (California) to east coast (Maryland). A baton made from a military stretcher used in Afghanistan will be passed from racer to racer as a message of support for the men and women in the forces.
Louisa writes: “Of course there are going to be very tough and emotional times during the race. James was used to pushing himself to the limit. I am not sure he would think we are capable of doing this.” Do give her your support in memory of James and the other 350 British already killed in Afghanistan: donate via www.bmycharity.com/teamswiftandbold