{{Short description|British Army general}} {{Use British English|date=January 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = Major General | name = James Bowder | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}} | image = James Bowder and Walter Rugen signing (Bowder cropped).jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Bowder in 2022 | nickname = | birth_date = 1973<ref name=FBMD>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=ptn2TM3ZDWh2jdAlM2tC4A&scan=1|title=BOWDER James Maurice H|accessdate=5 May 2026|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref> | birth_place = Hemel Hempstead<ref name=FBMD/> | death_date = | death_place = | burial_place = | allegiance = United Kingdom | branch = British Army | service_years = 1996–present | rank = Major General | service_number = | unit = Grenadier Guards | commands = London District<br/>Household Division<br/>6th (United Kingdom) Division<br/>1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade<br/>1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards | battles = War in Afghanistan | awards = Officer of the Order of the British Empire<br/>Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service | relations = | other_work = }} Major General '''James Maurice Hannan Bowder''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100|OBE}} (born 1973) is a senior British Army officer. He currently serves as General Officer Commanding, London District and the Major-General commanding the Household Division.
==Military career== Following training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Bowder was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards on 13 April 1996.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=54408|page=7306|supp=y|date=28 May 1996}}</ref> He became commanding officer of 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards in 2011, in which role he was deployed to Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishinfantry/grenadierjbowder.htm|title=Lieutenant Colonel James Bowder OBE|publisher=British Empire|accessdate=23 July 2019}}</ref>
He went on to be commander of the 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade in June 2016, Head of Strategy for the Army in June 2018,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf|title=Army Commands|accessdate=5 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112744/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> and General Officer Commanding Force Troops Command in July 2019.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=62720|page=13064|date=23 July 2019|supp=y}}</ref> Force Troops Command was renamed as 6th (United Kingdom) Division on 1 August 2019.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Army restructures to confront evolving threats |url=https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2019/08/army-restructures-to-confront-evolving-threats/|work=British Army |location=Upavon, Wiltshire |date=1 August 2019 |access-date=15 August 2019 }}</ref> He then became Director Army Futures in September 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dsei.co.uk/speakers/james-bowder|title=Major General James Bowder OBE|publisher=DSEI|access-date=11 September 2023}}</ref> He has been the Regimental Lieutenant Colonel of the Grenadier Guards since 18 June 2022, a ceremonial appointment.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=63734 |date=21 June 2022 |page=11656 }}</ref>
thumb|left|Bowder inspects a band of the Household Division in 2024 Bowder was appointed General Officer Commanding, London District and the Major-General commanding the Household Division in September 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.facebook.com/groups/966213956826343/permalink/6446667408780943/?mibextid=Nif5oz|title=New appointments|publisher=Grenadier Guards Association|access-date=20 August 2023}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=Tom Copinger-Symes}} {{s-ttl|title=General Officer Commanding, Force Troops Command|years=July–August 2019}} {{s-non|reason=Command disbanded}} |- {{s-new|command}} {{s-ttl|title=General Officer Commanding, 6th (United Kingdom) Division|years=2019–2021}} {{s-aft|after=Gerald Strickland}} |- {{s-bef|before=Sir Christopher Ghika}} {{s-ttl|title=GOC London District|years=2023–present}} {{s-inc}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowder, James Maurice Hannan}} Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:British Army major generals Category:Grenadier Guards officers Category:British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Category:Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service Category:20th-century British Army personnel