Background
Bower was born in 1849, the son of Doctor John Bower, and grandson of Sir William Nott.
Bower was born in 1849, the son of Doctor John Bower, and grandson of Sir William Nott.
He was educated at Cheltenham and Sandhurst, and served in the army in the King"s Regiment.
The barrister Sir Edmund Ernest Nott-Bower, Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, was a brother. He was later appointed a captain of the 5th (Militia) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment. Bower was transferred to the Royal Irish Constabulary, then served as Chief constable of Leeds, before he was appointed Head constable of Liverpool in October 1881.
The police force in Liverpool was the largest in the country, and gave a thorough knowledge of police administration on an extensive scale.
In March 1902 he was elected Commissioner of Police of the City of London, serving as such until 1925. Bower married, in 1889, Florence Harrison, daughter of Reginald Harrison, Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons. Their son was Sir John Nott-Bower (1892-1972), a later Head of the London Metropolitan Police.