Lt. Col. Stewart Inglis Howard-Jones M.C., D.S.O.

Date Of Birth :
30/12/1913
Place Of Birth :
Salisbury, UK
Position :
C.O., 11 Royal Tank Regt
Died :
2002
 
Brief History

From The Telegraph dated 23/04/2002

Lt-Col Stewart Howard-Jones, who has died aged 88, won an MC while in charge of a tank squadron in Normandy in July 1944, and a DSO while commanding his regiment at the crossing of the Rhine the next March.

In July 1944 Howard-Jones, then a major commanding a squadron of the Royal Tank Regiment, was supporting an infantry attack on Le Haut de Bosoq, west of Caen.

During the assault Howard-Jones led his squadron with such skill and daring that they were able to destroy three German Panther tanks, one Tiger and one Mark IV - at a time when heavy German armour was proving highly effective against Allied attempts to break out of the Normandy beachhead.

Having got the infantry on to their objective, Howard-Jones and his squadron remained in a very difficult position for two days under constant fire, and for the rest of the week were continually in action, supporting further attacks.

The infantry officers with whom he worked testified to Howard-Jones's great personal courage, as well as his untiring energy, skill and attention to detail. When, without a rest, the squadron took part in the attack on Eterville on July 10, Howard-Jones personally conducted a recce, on foot and under heavy machine-gun fire, to check on tank routes, about which there was some doubt.

On July 12 his squadron was in action again and Howard-Jones's careful preparation in the planning stages, and personal leadership during the attack, ensured the success of the operation.

The citation for his MC stated that he had "proved himself to be a leader who gave no thought to his own personal safety and his endurance and courage undoubtedly led to the success of many of these brilliant actions".

By March 1945 Howard-Jones, now a lieutenant-colonel, was commanding the 11th Royal Tank Regiment, in support of the 44th (Lowland) Infantry Brigade at the Rhine crossing - an assault crossing against a determined enemy, with the positions of mines and the state of the enemy bank being largely unknown.

The regiment was equipped with LVTs (Landing Vehicle Tracked) - the famous "Buffalo", an amphibious troop carrier and infantry support vehicle - to ferry the infantry across, and support them as they advanced to link up with the airborne forces, which had dropped ahead of them.

Howard-Jones directed the operation from the river bank under heavy enemy shell and mortar fire, and thanks to his meticulous preparation and brilliant organisation the crossing was made without the loss of a single craft.

The citation for his DSO stated: "It was largely due to the high state of training within his regiment and to the personal control which he exercised throughout the operation that the assault by 44th (Lowland) Infantry Brigade was a complete success and enabled 12th Corps to make early contact with the airborne forces."

Stewart Inglis Howard-Jones was born on December 30 1913 at Salisbury and educated at Monmouth School, where he was a fine sportsman. On leaving school he worked on a farm at Fovant in Wiltshire and played cricket and rugby for Salisbury and Wiltshire.

In 1933, encouraged by a family friend, he enlisted as a private in the Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's) and was soon representing the regiment and the Army at rugby, cricket and athletics.

For more than 30 years he was the youngest man to have played rugby for the Army, and his record for the Army high hurdles stood for 20 years. He played rugby for Hampshire, Blackheath and the Barbarians, and was a reserve for England in 1936. It was felt that only the outbreak of war prevented him winning his England cap.

In 1936 Howard-Jones entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and in January 1938 was commissioned into the Royal Tank Corps, which the next year became the Royal Tank Regiment. By 1939 he was a lieutenant involved in training recruits, first to repel the expected German invasion of England and later to prepare for the Allied invasion of France.

In 1944, as a squadron commander of some of the first heavy armour to land in Normandy, he was soon in action in the "break-out" battles where he won his MC. After the Rhine crossing and the drive into Germany, he was among the first Allied soldiers to enter Belsen concentration camp.

At the end of the war, Howard-Jones reverted to major and, after service at the Amphibious Trials Unit at Lee-on-Solent (where, rumour has it, he once played cricket for the Navy), went to Sandhurst as an instructor.

He saw action again in the Korean War, returning via Egypt where he remained for a short while training the Egyptians on the new Centurion tank. In 1956, he went to Paderborn to join 8 RTR, eventually as commanding officer. He brought the regiment to such a high state of morale and efficiency that, on relinquishing command, he was immediately posted to 1 RTR to repeat the achievement.

After commanding that regiment in Hong Kong he returned to England, and was posted to the Regular Commissions Board at Westbury until his retirement from the Army in 1960.

He then worked as Civil Defence Officer for Lincolnshire and, later, Nottinghamshire and in 1970 became Civil Emergencies Planning Officer for Surrey.

He had resumed his sporting career after the war, captaining the Hampshire Rugby XV and playing cricket for the Surrey second XI. On one occasion, stepping in for an injured 1st XI opening batsman, he scored 100 runs before lunch - but the newspapers, unaware of the change, credited the runs to the original player.

In the 1950s, he played cricket for the Free Foresters and the Forty Club (of which he became an honorary life member) and later became an accomplished golfer. He was always an enthusiastic gardener, undaunted by the large overrun gardens he often inherited, and restoring many. He took a great delight in the natural world and was a keen observer of wildlife, especially birds and butterflies.

He married, in 1940, Winifrede Kelleher, who died in 1994. He is survived by their son and daughter.

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