Book excerpt: Sir Henry Fowler was born in Evesham and educated in Birmingham. He went on to become the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) and President of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. Sir Henry was inventive, industrious and generous. In addition to his mechanical creativity, he was also a bell-ringer, keen amateur cricketer, hockey-player, devout Christian and devoted family man. This book is the first one to look at Sir Henry in the whole; considering his life rather than his inventions. An important and useful study to anyone interested in the history of engineering in Great Britain in the Twentieth Century.