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SirPatrick GowerKBE CB CVO
Gower in 1927
Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
In office 1922–1928Serving with Ronald Waterhouse
Prime Minister	Bonar Law Stanley Baldwin Ramsay MacDonald
Preceded by	Sir Edward Grigg
Succeeded by	Robert Vansittart
Personal details
Born	Robert Patrick Malcolm Gower (1887-08-18)18 August 1887 Cardigan, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Died	31 August 1964(1964-08-31) (aged 77) Henley, Oxfordshire, England
Spouses	Nancy Barkley ​ ​(m. 1913; died 1940)​ H. Margaret Hawdon ​(m. 1941)​
Relations	Sir Robert Gower
Children	2
Education	Marlborough College
Alma mater	Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Awards	Order of the Bath (1922) Royal Victorian Order (1923) Order of the British Empire (1924)

Sir Robert Patrick Malcolm Gower KBE CB CVO (18 August 1887 – 31 August 1964) was a British civil servant who served as the Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister between 1922 and 1928.

Early life

Patrick Gower was born in Cardigan, Pembrokeshire, the younger son of Captain Erasmus Gower of Pembrokeshire. He was educated at Marlborough College and gained a scholarship to Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Career

Gower served as Private Secretary to Austen Chamberlain as Chancellor of the Exchequer and as Lord Privy Seal, from 1919 to 1922. He served as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, during which time he served three different prime ministers; Bonar Law; Stanley Baldwin; and Ramsay MacDonald, from 1922 to 1928. After leaving 10 Downing Street, Gower served as Chief Press Officer to the Conservative Party from 1929 to 1939. In 1939 he left Whitehall to become chairman of advertising firm Charles F. Higham, where he remained until retirement.

He was awarded an Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1922 New Years Honours list; a Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in the 1923 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours; and was knighted (KBE) for services to the Prime Minister. in the 1924 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours.

Personal life

He married Nancy Barkley in 1913, with whom he had one son and one daughter. Upon her death in 1940 he remarried in March 1941 to H. Margaret Hawdon. He died at home in Henley, Oxfordshire, on 31 August 1964.

References

1. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
2. ^ "Gower, Sir (Robert) Patrick (Malcolm), (18 Aug. 1887–31 Aug. 1964), President of Charles F. Higham Ltd, since 1956 (Chairman, 1935–56)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u53298. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
3. Churchill, Randolph Spencer; Gilbert, Martin (1966). Winston S. Churchill. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-25104-1.
4. Jones, Thomas (1969). Whitehall Diary. Oxford U.P.
5. The Economist. Economist Newspaper Limited. 1928.
6. The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art. Saturday Review. 1928.
7. ^ "OBITUARY: Sir Patrick Gower". The Times. 1 September 1964. p. 12. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
8. "Page 10713 | Supplement 32563, 30 December 1921 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
9. "Page 3739 | Supplement 32827, 25 May 1923 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
10. "Page 1263 | Supplement 32906, 8 February 1924 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-13.

• 1887 births
• 1964 deaths
• People educated at Marlborough College
• Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
• British civil servants
• Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
• Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
• Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order