He was educated at Repton School and later attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from where he was commissioned into the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry on 1 February 1923.
Among his fellow graduates were Robert Poole, Geoffrey Bourne, Ernest Down, Archer Clive, Francis Matthews, John Carew Pole, Hugh Stockwell and Ronald Littledale.
[2] Promoted on 1 February 1925 to lieutenant,[3] after serving as his battalion's adjutant he then returned to England, where he attended the Staff College, Camberley, from 1935 to late 1936, and, like at Sandhurst, several of his fellow students were destined for general officer rank during the Second World War or in the years after.
[4] After graduating from Camberley, Bower, who on 1 February 1935 was promoted to captain,[5] was appointed as a brigade major in Hong Kong from 1937 to 1938.
However, on 23 April 1941 he was promoted to the acting rank of lieutenant colonel and made Commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Border Regiment.