Henry Howard

Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Henry Howard (25 February 1915 – 6 May 2000) was a British Army officer who was twice awarded the Military Cross for gallantry and was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order for leadership whilst commanding the 1st Battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 43rd) in the North-West Europe campaign during the Second World War. He later became Laird of the Hebridean island of Gometra.

Early life Frederick Henry Howard was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), known as the Buffs, in 1935. He led his battalion into the Netherlands, the Ardennes, the Battle of the Reichswald, the Rhine crossing and during the advance across Germany to Hamburg, where it remained until the end of the War in Europe. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership during the crossing of the River Roer on the border of the Netherlands and Germany.

After the Second World War In 1946 Howard was appointed to command the 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment in Singapore. He later became second-in-command of the 3rd Hussars in Bielefeld. His final military appointment was as commander of the Tactical Wing at Lulworth, Dorset. He retired from the Army in 1953.

Later life In 1940 Howard married Estelle Georgette Sharp, second daughter of Mrs. W. B. Atkinson of Londiani, Kenya and the late Mr. Sharp. In 1952 he married secondly Jean Parnell, second daughter of the 6th Lord Congleton, with whom he was to have four children. His wife inherited an estate on the Isle of Ulva, where they settled and he farmed cattle and sheep. He added to the property by buying the neighbouring island of Gometra.

Henry Howard died on 6 May 2000, at the age of 85.