Name Jackie Bowen | ||
Benjamin John "Jackie" Bowen (birth registered April→June 1915 – 26 February 2009 (aged 93)) was a Welsh international rugby league player. He originally played rugby for Llanelli under the union code later switching to league when he joined Wigan and represented the Welsh league team.
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Rugby career
Bowen first played first-class rugby for Llanelli, and was on the brink of winning his first cap for the Welsh union team when he switched to league. Bowen was a trialist in 1938 and managed to play in front of the selectors on the side of the 'Probables', but on leaving the field he was approached by officials from Wigan. The club offered him a ten-year contract, and when Bowen accepted he severed his links from the union code by becoming professional. Bowen moved to Wigan, but with the outbreak of World War II he joined the British Armed Forces becoming a member of the Welsh Guards. Jackie Bowen played loose forward/lock in Wigan's 10-7 victory over Salford in the 1938 Lancashire County Cup Final during the 1938–39 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 22 October 1938. After the war he returned to Wigan, and in 1945 he won his first international cap in a game against England.
Although capped for his country, he did not receive his actual cap until 2005 when he was awarded it during a half-time presentation on the pitch of the JJB Stadium in a match between Wigan and St. Helens.
Genealogical information
Bowen settled in Wigan, becoming a publican in the city, and marrying local girl Phyllis Brown [1], they had children; Benjamin J. K. Bowen (birth registered during October→December 1941 (age 75–76) in Ince district), and Margaret A. Bowen (birth registered during July→September 1943 (age 73–74) in Ince district).