After Hobart
Bowen finally left Hobart in August 1804 on the Ocean, and in January 1805 sailed for England in the Lady Barlow. King paid him £100 to defray his expenses and recommended him for promotion. In May 1804 Bowen was promoted commander and in January 1806 he became captain. From 1806 to December 1809 he was in the HMS Camilla, which in 1807-08 took part in the blockade of Martinique and Guadeloupe. In February 1811 he wrote to Robert Peel, Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, suggesting that he should succeed Collins as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land. This was subsequently rejected as it was believed that as a naval officer he could not command troops.
In 1812-16 he served in the HMS Salsette on the India Station.
Returning to England on 13 May 1825, he married Elizabeth Clowes. After a long illness he died at Ilfracombe in 1827, aged 47.
Read more about this topic: John Bowen (colonist)