Neville Howse
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Major General Sir Neville Reginald Howse VC, KCB, KCMG (26 October 1863 - 19 September 1930) was the first Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
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[edit] Early life
Born in Stogursey, Somerset, England, Howse was educated at Freelands School, Taunton; he then studied medicine at London Hospital, before migrating to New South Wales largely for health reasons and establishing his first practice in Newcastle, and then another in Taree. After undertaking postgraduate work in England, Howse returned to Australia in 1897 and settled in Orange.
[edit] Military service
On 24 July 1900, during the action at Vredefort, South Africa in the Second Boer War, then-Captain Howse of the New South Wales Medical Staff Corps, Australian Forces saw a trumpeter fall and went through very heavy cross-fire to rescue the man. His horse was soon shot from under him and the captain continued on foot, reached the casualty and dressed his wound. Howse then carried him to safety. For this action, Howse was awarded the Victoria Cross, his copy of which is now on display at the Australian War Memorial (Canberra, Australia).
Howse returned to South Africa in 1902 just as the war was ending. Prior to World War I Howse married Evelyn Pilcher in Bathurst in 1905, and was twice elected to serve as mayor of Orange. When the First World War began Howse was appointed principal medical officer to the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force to German New Guinea, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Following his time in New Guinea, he was appointed assistant director of medical services 1st Australian Division. At the Battle of Gallipoli he took charge of evacuating wounded men from the beach in the campaign’s opening days, later in 1917 at the Dardanelles commission he described the arrangements for dealing with wounded men at Gallipoli as inadequate to the point of “criminal negligence”.
In September 1915 he was given command of ANZAC medical services and in November became director of the AIF’s medical services. When the First Australian Imperial Force moved to France, Howse took up a position in London, overseeing medical serivces in France, Egypt and Palestine.
Howse was made KCB in 1917, knighted in 1919 and awarded Knight of Grace of the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, 1919. From 1921 to 1925 he was was director-general of medical services. In 1922 he resigned from the army and won the federal seat of Calare for the Nationalist Party. He held several ministerial portfolios, including defence and health. In February 1930 Howse travelled to England for medical treatment for cancer, but died on 19 September 1930.
A statue by Peter Dornan depicting Howse's act of bravery is on display at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Melbourne.
A postage stamp commemorating Howse was issued by Australia Post in 2000.
A one dollar coin designed by Wojciech Pietranik commemorating the centenary of Howse's feat of arms was issued by the Royal Australian Mint in 2000.
| Preceded by Herbert Pratten |
Minister for Health 1925–1927 |
Succeeded by Stanley Bruce |
| Preceded by Stanley Bruce |
Minister for Health 1928–1929 |
Succeeded by Frank Anstey |
[edit] References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- Victoria Crosses of the Anglo-Boer War (Ian Uys, 2000)
- Who’s who in Australian Military History
- Serle, Percival. (1949). "Howse, Neville Reginald". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
[edit] External links
- Biographical Notes by Ross Mallett on his First AIF Order of Battle pages.
- Speech at launch of commemorative stamp issue by John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia in Orange, New South Wales, 23 July 2000.
- Australian Nurses in the Second Boer War - notes on the New South Wales Medical Corps in South Africa.
Categories: 1863 births | 1930 deaths | People from Somerset | Australian Army officers | Australian generals | Australian Victoria Cross recipients | Boer War Victoria Cross recipients | Members of the Cabinet of Australia | Nationalist Party of Australia politicians | People from New South Wales | Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Calare | Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath | Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
