BA Oxf 1935, MB BCh 1939.
McGowan, the younger son of James Sinclair McGowan (see below) studied physiology and medicine at Oxford. He held junior appointments in Manchester before settling in general practice. He married Rosalind Storey Barclay, MB (of Mobberley Hall, Cheshire) in 1940 and served in the RAMC from 1941 to 1946. McGowan later moved to Bristol where he was appointed consultant clinical pathologist to United Bristol Hospitals.