A man whose legacy is lives saved and hope inspired amid unimaginable anguish
The Ink pays tribute to Mike Bowden, founder and chair of Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership, whose death has been announced
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The determined and inspiring man who spearheaded movement to bring lifesaving aid to Ukraine
The late Mike Bowden founded Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership shortly after Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The charity has delivered a vast quantity of aid to the country in the years since, ranging from lifesaving medicines to toys, and from clothing to mobile medical facilities, as well as helping Ukrainian people who have come to live in the Swindon area after being forced to leave their homeland.
by Barrie Hudson
The many tributes paid to Mike Bowden, news of whose death came earlier this week, included one from high-profile London-based NGO British-Ukrainian Aid, who wrote: “It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our close partner and dear friend, Mike Bowden, the founder of the Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership and a valued partner of our charity.
“Mike was an incredible person—exceptionally kind and generous. He dedicated himself to helping Ukraine and its people, making an immeasurable impact. His legacy will always remain with us.
“He was an amazing partner, helping us deliver more vehicles and aid to Ukraine. Thanks to him, numerous vehicles—including ambulances and a London red bus—are now operating in Kharkiv, helping to save lives. He also procured and delivered thousands of pounds’ worth of medical and humanitarian aid to help children, the injured, and the wounded.
“We are deeply grateful to have known Mike and to have had the opportunity to work alongside him on many occasions.”
Like many people who change the world significantly for the better, Mike never sought publicity for himself, only the causes for which he worked. This is apparent from any of the stories about Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership which have appeared in The Ink and our sister publication Swindon Link.
In the Autumn of 2023, he finally agreed to an interview in the Link’s Swindon People section as a means of promoting the charity - and spent most of the conversation praising others.
We reproduce that interview here:
"My dad and his dad were both carpenters," said Mike Bowden.
"My father instilled the work ethic in me. We weren't well-off but Dad used to work Saturdays and Sundays on overtime.
"Mum used to take me for swimming lessons but I don't remember Dad at weekends because he was always out working.
"The more interesting story possibly, though, is my grandfather, Charlie Bowden. He was a carpenter in Kent. I did meet him a few times when I was a young lad. By all accounts he was a very fine orator of the old school. He used to stand on a box and was a fierce trade unionist. His employer, a local builder, said to him, 'Charlie, you've got a choice: you can keep your job and shut your mouth or you can lose your job and keep on with your noise.’
"I do reflect on that story a great deal. To enormous criticism within the family he was sacked from his job and had no income for 18 months. That meant my Dad went to school without shoes for 18 months. If there is a story in my family background that has made me, I guess that's it, really.
"That's the story I dwell on."
Throughout the interview, Mike heaps praise on others - teachers, colleagues, fellow volunteers, the hauliers and other business people who stolidly help Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership.
Originally from Epping in Essex, Mike studied Law at Nottingham University and subsequently qualified as a solicitor. He was the first graduate in his family.
"That comes with pride and pressure. Pressure because things are expected of you, and also because you get some criticism - 'Who the **** does he think he is?' 'I've never thought who the **** I am, I just try hard."
Initially working for a high street solicitors' firm, he moved to London and growing success, but there came a time when the morals instilled in him by his background saw him facing a dilemma.
"As a professional person, particularly a lawyer, I believe you give everything for your client, but I discovered I was working for landlords - there's no problem being a landlord and making profit, but there are rules and lines, and some of this lot crossed it, not legally but morally."
The landlords in question were buying properties and finding ways - albeit legal ways - to make tenants leave so they could sell the properties on at a profit.
Mike joined what was then the Central Electricity Generating Board, a nationalised organisation, becoming a corporate specialist.
"With my Dad's work ethic, my Mum's dogged determination and my will to win, that becomes quite a potent force, and over the years I crept up the hierarchy and made it to the main board of Innogy Holdings plc, a FTSE 100 company. It was a very proud moment."
When privatisation came, Mike was effectively able to retire at 47.
"I remember the first day I had off. I owned a racehorse called Generous Lad, and I went off to see it training at five in the morning and had a bacon butty on the gallops around Bath. I thought, 'This isn't too bad, I can handle this.' But of course, you quickly come to realise that as lovely as that is, you can't do that seven days a week.
"I have never been a person that will tolerate or contemplate boredom or lethargy, and so I started casting around for things to occupy me."
The first thing he found in a voluntary sector stint which has persisted ever since was Swindon Mediation on Milton Road, helping people involved in disputes try to reach compromises.
He was among a group of people who tried valiantly to turn around the fortunes of Swindon Speedway, and candidly admits that his failure to do so made him ill.
He has no time for certain people he holds responsible, but refuses to name them.
"People are entitled to disagree with everything I say; not a problem. They can even be rude to me, but I cannot bear people who say one thing and do another."
It was while at Swindon Speedway that he encountered Phoenix Enterprises, an organisation which helps people with learning difficulties and mental health issues. Swindon speedway helped to replace computer equipment stolen from the group in a burglary, and Mike ended up spending many years as a volunteer support worker and trustee.
He was also a major figure in the successful opposition to the planned leasing of Lydiard Park to the private sector.
Mike's immense loathing of injustice and equally immense desire to help those who suffer at the hands of the unjust informs his work with Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership.
"I try so hard to keep my feet on the ground. Charlie Bowden would expect my feet to be on the floor - he doesn't want me to be a flash bastard. He wants me to do stuff that I believe in. But you've got to keep your feet on the floor and recognise that you're not bigger than an organisation. We're a a tiny contributor to the consequences of war, but if everyone tried as hard as we do here, then the aggregate would be quite impressive.
"I believe in delivery. I hope that for most of my career I've been the right side of the acceptable line. I have a social conscience; I think a lot about my grandfather, and I haven't done anything in my life that I wouldn't defend.
"I can look at myself in the mirror and say, 'Okay, you're not too bad!'"
The Ink News Briefing
Mammoths found near Swindon heading for Cirencester museum appearance - Remains unearthed from the Cerney Wick Mammoth Graveyard are to go on show for a month from Saturday 15 February. They will be at the Corinium Museum in Cirencester in the latest chapter of a story which began several years ago in the ancient silt and gravel of a quarry operated by Swindon firm Hills Group near Latton. Full Story here
Police reminder about dogs worrying livestock - Wiltshire Police are reminding dog owners to be responsible and keep their animals on a lead while near livestock. The advice has been issued in a bid to avoid attacks on sheep during lambing season.
The force says it has received numerous reports of dogs off leads and chasing sheep on farmland. Full Story here
Arts Centre date for Swindon Travel Hub’s Luxury Travel Show - The Swindon Travel Hub team are inviting people to join them for their Luxury Travel Show at the Swindon Arts Centre in Devizes Road on Monday 3 March from 11am. For those dreaming of their next luxury getaway, it is billed as the perfect opportunity to explore top-tier holidays, cruises and tours with some of the best-known names in travel. Full Story here
GWH Outpatient Pharmacy team win top awards - The on-site Boots store has won the Boots UK ‘Best of the Best’ Healthcare Team of the Year Award, and Kantha Moodley, Store Manager, has won the ‘Best of the Best’ Inspiring Leadership Award. Full Story here
“If you think that you aren't creative please think again”
Creative Catalyst Carole Bent, who is married to artist David Bent and heads up the STEM to STEAM project, writes for The Ink
When words whirl and won’t settle, I do the single simplest thing that I can.
I google for a definition that offers an inch of solid ground to feel able to jump forward from.
Even as I write this, a judgemental eye or two comes to mind, the technique may sound too base for some and not natural enough for others, including me on another day. But here’s the thing …just start. Don’t be afraid to ask ‘why not ?’ in place of ‘why bother?’ Don’t let a lack of experience or an unorthodox approach stop you.
In seeking a definition of Creativity, the following two quotes helped me to kickstart this piece.
'The ability to make or to bring into existence something new' and ‘ The ability to transcend the ordinary.’
Some will relate to these and some won’t . For this article, I'm going to body swerve the sticky bubblegum of a hundred opinions pushing thoughts into a hundred different directions because whilst listening and learning from others underpins so much, there comes a point where you have to move into action.
It could be writing a piece like this or proposing a way to create peace in the world (good luck with that one).
It could be creating a new way of looking at things, in a STEMtoSTEAM way, seeking shifts in policy, perception and funding for the arts alongside Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
It might be trying to work out who you'd love to work with and working out how to make it happen. That’s creativity in action.
It might be icing a cake or skating on thin ice, planting a new idea or planting a row of Zinnias this year, the first flower grown on board the International Space Station, and beloved of butterflies on earth.
In a world with a tsunami of information overload and exposure, it can take courage to ‘ put yourself out there’ independently but as they say in ‘Dune', fear is the mindkiller.
It took me five goes to ‘get’ it, to read it and to recommend the book (not the film) to others.
Today is my fifth attempt to write about Creativity and the value of the arts in the everyday.
The trickiness isn't because I don’t have the words, but because there are so many.
My first taste of imagination and creativity was at school thanks to an English teacher who held our summertime classes outside, knee-deep in the long grass at the edge of the school grounds. Memories of lying in the shade of the trees, stinging nettles close by and the voices of friends reading Catcher in the Rye led to my love of writing and reading in nature. Freedom was in the sunshine, an approach shared by my A level Art & History of Art teacher whose encouragement and ability to inspire led me into the world of Art , Communications & Design.
From London agency life, to a ‘hippy with a Barclaycard.' Spanish sabbatical with my best friend, to commissioning creativity at scale at Tesco HQ, to European print run approvals...to being approached to head up the design team at WHSmith at a time when they loved design.
The threads that ran through it all?
A curiosity, an intuitive love of design, respect for teamwork, as open a mind as possible and a wish to create ‘something better because…'
Fairly early on, I realised that no one has all the answers, plenty bluff them, some people shmooze hierarchy over professional ethics and that the most creative solutions often come from challenging circumstances.
My drive to democratise design landed in my first two corporate roles.
At Tesco HQ the focus was on launching thousands of own-brand products on time, on budget and to exceed customer expectations. Relentlessly so.
Weaving between buying, legal, technical, marketing, agency and print teams alongside colleagues was an education.
Presenting designs in-store at 7am most weeks with my boss, her boss and to his bosses, the all-male board was often a challenge, but a training and a half.
Criticism had to be constructively handled and argued over if appropriate. Fair feedback taken on, ego’d ideas left on the shelf and on approval, a race to the launch.
Creative work commissioned week in week out and creative translations needed daily between buyers and agencies, seeking the best from both.
Having come into client life via a consultancy, I set certain rules to never ask for work to be completed on a weekend and never to ask for free pitches.
Joining WHSmith HQ was like entering another world. On the surface, more polite, cultured and respectful including towards Design and its potential.
As Head of Design in the mid 90s, it felt like a privilege, and although it took time to settle, I look back on that time as challenging but with genuine pride in the work that we did. Behind the Elizabeth Frink sculptures that inspired passers-by, it was at a sufficiently dysfunctional stage to encourage new ideas, something that is sometimes lost when ‘sorted'.
Working with colleagues to set new standards of presentation in-store, creating low-cost more contemporary and colourful refits for hundreds of stores and new store designs for key locations, including Bluewater & Gatwick North - to successfully retain the airport stores against the BAA threat of Menzies.
Redesigning the Corporate ID with zero budget, but great designers and a knowledge that our MD loved lorries, we waited until the next one was due a respray, provided the artwork in secret and had it parked outside the front of Greenbridge HQ to tie in with a meeting with our MD in the Foyer.
New product designed ranges including metro & colour, inspired by research trips to New York and London, headed into stores. Hard-working teams all round.
All in all, with outstanding store & HQ colleagues who genuinely cared, good design became all of ours , not just for the select few. Looking back, jeez, 100 mistakes made along the way too - but as they say, the (wo)man who makes no mistakes makes nothing and then 20-plus years flew by.
Although I don't wish to diss anyone, anyone from any walk of life walking into too many of the of the WHSmith high street stores over many years could rightly feel disappointed at the the contrast from the past to the present. Being part of the history of this once proud company and seeing the decline in standards gave me no joy, in fact the opposite. It also reminds me how lucky I was to be there and how many friendships endure.
Life post-Corporate has stretched in all sorts of directions, all of which is on LinkedIn so no need to write here.
If my life ended tomorrow, which I hope it won’t, and I could, say, emphasise a couple of things that really matter, the first would be to ask people not to think that they aren’t creative just because they cant paint (which I am often told).
Yes, my beloved David Bent can, and really well. There may well be only a handful of people with the ability and intuitive sense of ‘it' as him.
He can draw really, really well too and there is just something in the way that he sees and shares things that feel like magic. It might be in the slightest detail in the angle of a neck or creating a whole new way of looking at jets.
But there are hundreds of ways to create. We are all creative, so enjoy it, don't hide it or forget it or think that it doesn't matter any more.
Every Friday at New Brewery Arts reminds me of this.
I have been lucky to work with many people whose trust and confidence has led me to propose the most unexpected of things.
Sadly two who are no longer alive are Beverley Hodson at WHS and Lord Joel Joffe.
Both were advocates for creativity and would have embraced STEMtoSTEAM wholeheartedly.
If you think that you aren't creative please think again.
It could be in the way that you sign off your name or the way that you turn someones' argument into laughter.
It could be the way that you sew or sing.
It might be writing a book or righting wrongs - it is all of ours and there has never been a time when human connectivity and creativity has mattered more.
The Swindon Link Magazine Archive
Over on The Ink’s sister publication Swindon Link’s website you will find an impressive archive of the past 45 years of Swindon Link magazines, giving you a huge glimpse into the town’s recent past from the beginnings of West Swindon to now. You can find the archive here.
The latest magazines
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To contact The Ink directly email - theink@positive-media.co.uk