William Ernest Bowman
William Ernest Bowman (born September 30, 1911 in Scarborough , † January 1, 1985 ), was an engineer and writer. The best-known and still published work by the hobby mountaineer is the 1956 satire Die Aufigung des Rum Doodle (The Ascent of Rum Doodle) , which is based on Bill Tilman's report on the expedition to the Nanda Devi . Bowman parodies the relatively pompous writing style that characterized British expedition reports from 1930 to 1950. The British newspaper The Guardian included satire in its literary canon in 20091000 novels everyone must read (1000 novels that everyone must have read ).
Bowman was the eldest of three sons. His mother died in 1926 when Bowman was 15 years old. His father died in 1928 as a result of a mustard gas attack during the First World War . The death of the parents led to the separation of the brothers. Bowman lived in Middlesbrough in the years that followed, his middle brother went to Canada and his youngest brother lived at another school.
Bowman had left school at the age of 16 and subsequently worked as a draftsman and later as a civil engineer . During World War II he served with the Royal Air Force in Egypt as a radar instructor. After the end of the war he joined the Service Civil International and worked in Duisburg.
Publications
- The Ascent of Rum Doodle ( The Ascent of Rum Doodle , 1956)
- The Cruise of the Talking Fish, 1957
Bowman has also written several short stories and specialist articles on the theory of relativity .
Web links
- Rumdoodle website
- WDR report on the occasion of the first German publication "Die Aufigung des Rum Doodle" ( Memento from May 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
Single receipts
- ↑ Rumdoodle website accessed November 8, 2013
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bowman, William Ernest |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British engineer and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 30, 1911 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Scarborough |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 1, 1985 |