He was also a Land Surveyor. His Father was John Bowra, a Groombridge churchwarden and his Grandfather was Thomas Bowra, a surgeon from Sevenoaks. A farm labourer from St. Peter's in Broadstairs, he was caught smuggling and pressed into the Navy. He was known to have carried a loaded cannon across a ship's deck for an extra ration of rum. It took six normal men to replace it.
Old habits die hard.
The picture on the left is of the gravestone of Richard Joy in the churchyard of St. Peter's at Broadstairs in Thanet. The quality is not good because of the heavy shadows and will be replaced at a later date. A clear indication that smuggling in Kent did not end completely as the result of the Coastal Blockade earlier in the Century. Knight, John - was involved in the attack on Joseph Nicholson and the 4th Dragoons in February, 1780. Less than a month later he was hung at Peneden Heath and hung in chains on Borstal Hill, Whitstable as the result of information given by Edward Edenden.