Contact Lenses: The Story
Timothy James Bowden
Tim Bowden became interested in contact lenses over thirty years ago when a friend co-opted his astigmatic eyes as a contact lens case study. He has worn a variety of different types of lenses and specialised in contact lens fitting ever since. He is a visiting lecturer in the Contact Lens department at City and Islington College London and a practical contact lens examiner for ABDO. In 1983 he and his optometrist wife Lis opened their first independent practice in Gravesend followed by another in Herne Bay Kent. At present they run their own practice in Gillingham, Kent. The research for this book has spawned the Contact Lens Collection at the BOA museum in London, co-founded with Andrew Gasson, which is the only actively administered specialist contact lens collection open to the public in the world. It also spawned a project to erect commemorative plaques to honour contact lens pioneers both in the UK and elsewhere. He has held a variety of posts within UK optical professional organisations and has researched and written various articles on contact lens history and also the habits and opinions of contact lens wearers.