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Francis Howard (British Army officer, born 1848)

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Sir Francis Howard
Born26 March 1848
Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia
Died21 March 1930 (1930-03-22) (aged 81)
Castle Godwyn, Painswick, Gloucestershire
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
RankMajor-General
CommandsWestern Command
Battles / warsSecond Afghan War
Sudanese campaign
Second Boer War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George

Major-General Sir Francis Howard KCB KCMG DL (26 March 1848 – 21 March 1930) was a British Army officer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was a member of the aristocratic Howard family, influential Catholic nobility.[1]

Early life

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Howard was born in Berlin, a younger son of the diplomat Sir Henry Francis Howard (1809–1898) by his second wife, Baroness Marie Ernestine von der Schulenburg. His elder brother was another diplomat, Sir Henry Howard (1843–1921).[2]

Howard was a male-line descendant of the Dukes of Norfolk through Lord William Howard, younger son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, by his second wife.[2]

Military career

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Howard was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1866.[3] He took part in the Jowaki Expedition in India in 1877 and then, during the Afghan War, in the Bazaar Valley and Lughman Expeditions of 1878 and 1879,[3] and in operations in Upper Burma between 1887 and 1889.[3]

In 1894 he was appointed commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion the Rifle Brigade, which he commanded in the 1898 Sudanese campaign, including the Battle of Omdurman,[3] and then in Crete.[4]

During the Second Boer War, he was Commander of 8th Brigade and took part in the Defence of Ladysmith in 1900.[3] He later served on the Staff and was placed on half-pay 26 December 1900.[5]

In early 1903 he took part in the special mission (headed by Lord Downe) deputized by the King to travel to Iran to present the Shah with the insignia of the Order of the Garter.[6]

He was made Inspector General of Auxiliary Forces and Recruiting at the War Office in 1903 and then Commander of North Western District in 1904.[3] He was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Western Command in 1905 and retired in 1907.[3] He was recalled as Inspector of Infantry during World War I.[3] On 9 December 1919, Howard was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Gloucestershire.[7]

Howard held a number of honorary military appointments, including aide-de-camp to the Queen (1895); Colonel of the Gloucestershire Regiment (1912–13) and Colonel-Commandant of the 2nd Battalion Rifle Brigade (until June 1921).[4]

In 1924 Howard published his memoirs, entitled Reminiscences, 1848–1890.[8]

Marriage and issue

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In 1895, Howard married Gertrude Jane Boyd, daughter of Hugh Conyngham Boyd. They had one son and one daughter.[2]

Decorations

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References

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  1. ^ "Obituary: Major-General Sir Francis Howard". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 22 March 1930. p. 17.
  2. ^ a b c d Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. pp. 2907–2908. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Sir Francis Howard Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  4. ^ a b c d Who Was Who 1929-1940. Adam & Charles Black. 1947. ISBN 9780713601701.
  5. ^ "No. 27333". The London Gazette. 12 July 1901. p. 4644.
  6. ^ "Appointments". The Times. No. 36970. London. 6 January 1903. p. 8.
  7. ^ "No. 31678". The London Gazette. 9 December 1919. p. 15195.
  8. ^ Reminiscences, 1848-1890, Major-General Sir Francis Howard. HathiTrust
  9. ^ "No. 26867". The London Gazette. 25 June 1897. p. 3568.
  10. ^ "No. 11104". The Edinburgh Gazette. 23 June 1899. p. 621.
  11. ^ "No. 27306". The London Gazette. 19 April 1901. p. 2695.
Military offices
Preceded by GOC North Western District
(GOC-in-C Welsh and Midland Command 1905;
GOC-in-C Western Command 1906)
1904–1907 		Succeeded by
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