He was the son of Henry Bond Bowlby, Bishop Suffragan of Coventry.
He was educated at Charterhouse School and was an Exhibitioner of Balliol College, Oxford.
[2] A member of Oxford University Athletics Club 1884–87, he was its president in 1886.
An Assistant Master at Eton College 1887–1909, Bowlby then became headmaster of Lancing.
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