Charles Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk
Encyclopedia
Charles Henry George Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk, 13th Earl of Berkshire, GC
(March 2, 1906 – May 12, 1941) was an English
bomb disposal
expert who was also an earl
in the Peerage of England
, belonging to the ancient Howard family
. He was styled Viscount Andover until 1917. He was the son of the 19th Earl of Suffolk
and his American wife, the former Margaret Leiter (sister of Lady Curzon
and daughter of the American businessman Levi Leiter
). He entered Dartmouth College
to become a naval officer but quit soon after and headed to Liverpool
where he joined a windjammer
. Upon his return from Liverpool, his family bought him a commission in the Scots Guards
. He was asked to resign from his post by his superiors because of his "wild ways". He worked as a Jackaroo
in Australia
from 1928 to 1934.
In 1934, he married Chicago
-born ballet dancer Mimi Forde-Pigott, by whom he had three children:
The Earl enrolled at Edinburgh University, graduating three years later with a first-class honours degree in Chemistry. The Nuffield Laboratory at Oxford University offered him a research post in the area of "explosives and poisons". As Liaison Officer for the British Department of Scientific and Industrial Research during World War II
, the 20th Earl of Suffolk
was charged with rescuing rare machine tools, $10 million worth of industrial diamonds, fifty French scientists and heavy water
. The Earl, accompanied by his private confidential secretary, Eileen Beryl Morden, comprised a part of France's scientific elite as the Nazis advanced through the country. The Earl and Miss Morden were successful in their objective of ushering the scientists out of France, as well as securing the industrial diamonds and heavy water. Howard's approach to his missions earned him the nickname "Mad Jack".
as a Research Officer learning how to defuse bombs
of new and unknown types. The Earl served as part of an unexploded bomb detachment in London during the Blitz. The detachment consisted of himself, Morden, and his chauffeur, Fred Hards. They called themselves "the Holy Trinity" and they became famed for their prowess in detecting and successfully tackling thirty-four unexploded bombs with "urbane and smiling efficiency." Morden stood by his side taking notes, as the Earl worked at defusing the bombs. Sadly, the thirty-fifth claimed its forfeit when all three were killed on Erith Marshes
in Kent
on 12 May 1941.
The bomb, a 250kg (500lb) weapon, was at one of the so-called 'bomb cemeteries', on open ground on the marshes. Bombs were transferred here after being temporarily made safe for transport, and then destroyed using controlled explosions. The bomb had been dropped some six months earlier in the previous autumn and after removal and transfer to the marshes had been at Erith for so long it had been known to the Sapper
s as 'Old Faithfull'. Containing two separate fuze
s, a Type (17) and a Type (50), these two types were in short supply to the Bomb Disposal Sections, intact fuzes being required for instructional purposes and it was for the purpose of recovering the fuzes that the Earl was dealing with bomb. The Type (17) was a delayed-action fuze containing a clockwork mechanism, while the Type (50) was an anti-handling device
containing a motion sensor. Both fuzes had been temporarily made-safe so that the bomb could be transferred from the impact site to an open area, however the fuzes remained inside the bomb. In addition the Germans had also implemented on some bombs a Zus 40 booby trap, that detonated the bomb when an attempt was made at withdrawing the Type (17). The Zus 40 was positioned below the other fuze, and so was not visible until the obvious fuze was partially withdrawn from its pocket. At lunchtime of the 12th May the Earl had telephoned his office to say that the Type (17) was ticking and that he had sent for a Mk II KIM clock-stopper. By 14:45 this was in place along with a stethoscope
, and preparations were being made to sterilise the bomb with steam. As two Sappers were going to fetch water for the steamer, the bomb exploded. The explosion killed the Earl, Hards, Morden - who died in the ambulance - and eleven other people who had been nearby, including five Sappers who had been working alongside the Earl on the bomb. It was later surmised that a Zus 40 may have been triggered as the Earl was removing it.
For his work in Bomb Disposal the Earl was awarded the George Cross
.
In 1973, the BBC
based a television drama series on the life of the Earl. Ronald Pickup
played the leading role in The Dragon's Opponent. The Earl has a role in Michael Ondaatje
's novel, The English Patient
.
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
(March 2, 1906 – May 12, 1941) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
bomb disposal
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
expert who was also an earl
Earl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
in the Peerage of England
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
, belonging to the ancient Howard family
Howard family
The Howard family is an English aristocratic family founded by John Howard who was created Duke of Norfolk by Plantagenet monarch Richard III of England in 1483. However, John was also the eldest grandson of the 1st Duke of 1st creation...
. He was styled Viscount Andover until 1917. He was the son of the 19th Earl of Suffolk
Earl of Suffolk
Earl of Suffolk is a title that has been created four times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, in tandem with the creation of the title of Earl of Norfolk, came before 1069 in favour of Ralph the Staller; but the title was forfeited by his heir, Ralph de Guader, in 1074...
and his American wife, the former Margaret Leiter (sister of Lady Curzon
Mary Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston
Mary Victoria Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston, CI was a British-American peeress who was Vicereine of India, as the wife of Lord Curzon of Kedleston, Viceroy of India.-In America:...
and daughter of the American businessman Levi Leiter
Levi Leiter
Levi Ziegler Leiter was a Chicago businessman. He co-founded what became the Marshall Field & Company retail empire.-Biography:...
). He entered Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
to become a naval officer but quit soon after and headed to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
where he joined a windjammer
Windjammer
A windjammer is the ultimate type of large sailing ship with an iron or for the most part steel hull, built to carry cargo in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century...
. Upon his return from Liverpool, his family bought him a commission in the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
. He was asked to resign from his post by his superiors because of his "wild ways". He worked as a Jackaroo
Jackaroo
-Vehicle:* Holden Jackaroo, an Australian 4WD utility or wagon for rough ground * Thruxton Jackaroo, a 1950s British four-seat biplane-Other:* Buddy Williams , known as the yodeling jackaroo...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
from 1928 to 1934.
In 1934, he married Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-born ballet dancer Mimi Forde-Pigott, by whom he had three children:
- Michael Howard, 21st Earl of SuffolkMichael Howard, 21st Earl of SuffolkMichael John James George Robert Howard, 21st Earl of Suffolk, 14th Earl of Berkshire , styled Viscount Andover until 1941, is an English peer...
(b. 1935) - Hon. Maurice David Henry Howard (b. 3 November 1936), married Vicky Summers in 1998
- Hon. Patrick Greville Howard (b. 18 August 1940), married Mary Johnson in 1966 and has issue
The Earl enrolled at Edinburgh University, graduating three years later with a first-class honours degree in Chemistry. The Nuffield Laboratory at Oxford University offered him a research post in the area of "explosives and poisons". As Liaison Officer for the British Department of Scientific and Industrial Research during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the 20th Earl of Suffolk
Earl of Suffolk
Earl of Suffolk is a title that has been created four times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, in tandem with the creation of the title of Earl of Norfolk, came before 1069 in favour of Ralph the Staller; but the title was forfeited by his heir, Ralph de Guader, in 1074...
was charged with rescuing rare machine tools, $10 million worth of industrial diamonds, fifty French scientists and heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
. The Earl, accompanied by his private confidential secretary, Eileen Beryl Morden, comprised a part of France's scientific elite as the Nazis advanced through the country. The Earl and Miss Morden were successful in their objective of ushering the scientists out of France, as well as securing the industrial diamonds and heavy water. Howard's approach to his missions earned him the nickname "Mad Jack".
Bomb disposal
Following his return from France, the Earl worked for the Ministry of SupplyMinistry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...
as a Research Officer learning how to defuse bombs
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
of new and unknown types. The Earl served as part of an unexploded bomb detachment in London during the Blitz. The detachment consisted of himself, Morden, and his chauffeur, Fred Hards. They called themselves "the Holy Trinity" and they became famed for their prowess in detecting and successfully tackling thirty-four unexploded bombs with "urbane and smiling efficiency." Morden stood by his side taking notes, as the Earl worked at defusing the bombs. Sadly, the thirty-fifth claimed its forfeit when all three were killed on Erith Marshes
Erith Marshes
Erith Marshes is an area of grazing marsh beside the south bank of River Thames in London, England.It is located next to the Crossness Sewage Treatment Works and is owned by Thames Water. It is a site of metropolitan importance and situated at grid reference TQ483801, in the London Borough of Bexley...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
on 12 May 1941.
The bomb, a 250kg (500lb) weapon, was at one of the so-called 'bomb cemeteries', on open ground on the marshes. Bombs were transferred here after being temporarily made safe for transport, and then destroyed using controlled explosions. The bomb had been dropped some six months earlier in the previous autumn and after removal and transfer to the marshes had been at Erith for so long it had been known to the Sapper
Sapper
A sapper, pioneer or combat engineer is a combatant soldier who performs a wide variety of combat engineering duties, typically including, but not limited to, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, demolitions, field defences, general construction and building, as well as road and airfield...
s as 'Old Faithfull'. Containing two separate fuze
Fuze
Fuze Beverage, commercially referred to as just Fuze , is a manufacturer of teas and non-carbonated fruit drinks enriched with vitamins. Currently the brand consists of five vitamin-infused lines: Slenderize, Refresh, Tea, Defensify, and Vitalize...
s, a Type (17) and a Type (50), these two types were in short supply to the Bomb Disposal Sections, intact fuzes being required for instructional purposes and it was for the purpose of recovering the fuzes that the Earl was dealing with bomb. The Type (17) was a delayed-action fuze containing a clockwork mechanism, while the Type (50) was an anti-handling device
Anti-handling device
An anti-handling device is an attachment to or integral part of a landmine or other munition e.g. some fuze types found in air-dropped bombs such as the M83, cluster bombs and sea mines. It is specifically designed to prevent tampering. When the protected device is disturbed it detonates, killing...
containing a motion sensor. Both fuzes had been temporarily made-safe so that the bomb could be transferred from the impact site to an open area, however the fuzes remained inside the bomb. In addition the Germans had also implemented on some bombs a Zus 40 booby trap, that detonated the bomb when an attempt was made at withdrawing the Type (17). The Zus 40 was positioned below the other fuze, and so was not visible until the obvious fuze was partially withdrawn from its pocket. At lunchtime of the 12th May the Earl had telephoned his office to say that the Type (17) was ticking and that he had sent for a Mk II KIM clock-stopper. By 14:45 this was in place along with a stethoscope
Stethoscope
The stethoscope is an acoustic medical device for auscultation, or listening to the internal sounds of an animal body. It is often used to listen to lung and heart sounds. It is also used to listen to intestines and blood flow in arteries and veins...
, and preparations were being made to sterilise the bomb with steam. As two Sappers were going to fetch water for the steamer, the bomb exploded. The explosion killed the Earl, Hards, Morden - who died in the ambulance - and eleven other people who had been nearby, including five Sappers who had been working alongside the Earl on the bomb. It was later surmised that a Zus 40 may have been triggered as the Earl was removing it.
For his work in Bomb Disposal the Earl was awarded the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
.
In 1973, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
based a television drama series on the life of the Earl. Ronald Pickup
Ronald Pickup
-Life and career:Pickup was born in Chester, England, the son of Daisy and Eric Pickup, who was a lecturer. Pickup was educated at The King's School, Chester, trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and became an Associate Member of RADA.His television work began with an episode...
played the leading role in The Dragon's Opponent. The Earl has a role in Michael Ondaatje
Michael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje , OC, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet of Burgher origin. He is perhaps best known for his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, which was adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film.-Life and work:...
's novel, The English Patient
The English Patient
The English Patient is a 1992 novel by Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje. The story deals with the gradually revealed histories of a critically burned English accented Hungarian man, his Canadian nurse, a Canadian-Italian thief, and an Indian sapper in the British Army as they live out...
.
External links
Sources
- Hissey, Terry - Come if ye Dare - The Civil Defence George Crosses, (2008), Civil Defence Assn. (ISBN 9780955015328)