I am a historian, teacher and story-teller based in Exeter.

During my six decades I have worked in the theatre, for NGOs and in education in the UK and around the world.

In 2013 I stumbled upon some photos of Indian soldiers in Devon, with turbans and mules, and I was hooked.

I went back to university and did a Masters and then a PhD. The History Press published The Indian Contingent: the Forgotten Muslim Soldiers of Dunkirk in 2020, during the Pandemic. It was then published by Pan Macmillan in India.

My second book The Great Épinal Escape: Indian Prisoners of War in German Hands is coming out in May 2024, also from The History Press.

My father was also a writer: WE Bowman, author of The Ascent of Rum Doodle. I’m contemplating writing his biography.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ascent_of_Rum_Doodle

I am a Quaker and a lifelong learner, I volunteer with the Woodcraft Folk and have a small garden where I try to grow vegetables and trees. I am married with two grown-up children. I love walking the South West Coast Path.