A tribute to Christopher Dowling (WG 1952)
Christopher Dowling (WG 1952)
Christopher Dowling (WG 1952) was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 16 June 1940, the son of the poet Basil Dowling. Christopher came to England in 1952 and entered Highgate School in the same year. A fellow pupil, and life-long friend, was the future historian Martin Gilbert. He was taught history by an old Orielenses, Alan Palmer, and in 1958 took up an open scholarship in Modern History at Oriel College. After coming down he spent an unhappy year in industry before returning to Oxford to study for a DPhil.
On completion of his thesis Christopher was offered appointment at the Imperial War Museum: he had landed the job of his dreams, and a job for life. His role as Director of Public Services gave him free reign over publishing, exhibitions, public relations, marketing, educational services and many commercial activities. His enthusiasm for history was infectious and he did much to raise the Museum’s public and media profile by steering a course towards broadening its terms of reference with a strong focus on social and cultural history.
Christopher had an unerring instinct for historical themes that would interest the media and attract diverse audiences. He was a stickler for detail but bored by ‘admin’ and committee meetings. His was a creative force, he loved to dream up ideas and run with them. His work schedule often verged on the impossible but as loyal members of his team remarked – ‘it was such fun’.
Exhibition themes included commemorations for the Armistice and D-Day, poetry of the Great War, T E Lawrence, the Spanish Civil War, and London at war. The cast from Dad’s Army turned up to launch a show on the Home Guard; Darcy Bussell, photographed by Lord Snowdon, fronted Forties Fashion and the New Look; Jilly Cooper and Joanna Lumley wrote books to accompany Animals in War and Forces Sweethearts; a show on ‘Dig for Victory’ inspired Christopher to ask Sir Terence Conran to design a gold medal-winning garden for the Chelsea Flower Show, and C4‘s The 1940s House led him to oversee the construction of an entire suburban home inside the Museum. It was a hit with visitors for many years. Apart from exhibitions there was a huge programme of events: talks, lectures, holiday adventures for children, chamber concerts, fashion shows - and Colditz the musical! One month it might be Dame Judi Dench or Sir Dirk Bogarde giving a reading, on another a debate with Harold Pinter and Tony Benn.
He initiated the IWM’s publishing programme with a series of personal experience accounts, the first of which, George Coppard’s With a Machine Gun to Cambrai, became a classic. Scores of successful titles on a wide range of subjects followed over the decades.
Surprisingly, for a naturally somewhat diffident man, Christopher was never happier than organising parties. Politicians, journalists, sportsmen, writers, artists and actors - as well as countless veterans - were greeted by a beaming Christopher wearing one of his memorably flamboyant ties. Christopher was awarded an OBE for services to museums in the Queen’s 2002 New Year’s Honours List.
Beyond the Museum, Christopher’s passions were for art, literature, classical music, gardening and cricket - his cousin, Graham Dowling, captained the NZ team. During his retirement he was afflicted by a rare form of dementia. He died at home on 14 July 2019, in the arms of his wife of more than 45 years. He is buried in Highgate Cemetery near his childhood home and the school where he spent so many happy days.
As Shirley Williams once remarked about Christopher, ‘Such a lovely man!’