John Brooke Howse KStJ MHR (1913 - 2002)

Born 10 Oct 1913 in Orange, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Valerie Major (Downes) Howse — married 21 Dec 1939 in Toorak, Victoria, Australia

Died 17 Jul 2002 at age 88 in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Biography

John Howse KStJ MHR was born in New South Wales, Australia

Lieutenant Commander John Brooke Howse KStJ VD MHR was born on 10th October 1913 in Orange, New South Wales, Australia. He was the younger son of Sir Neville Howse VC and Evelyn Pilcher. ^[1]

John married Valerie Downes on 21st December 1939 in St John's Church of England (Anglican Church), Toorak, Victoria. ^[2]

John Howse KStJ MHR is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Royal Australian Navy 1938-1946
HMAS Whyalla; HMS Welcome

As war loomed in 1938 John joined the Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RANVR). ^[3] After working on ciphers at Navy Office, he did anti-submarine detection training and several other courses before being posted to the Bathurst Class corvette HMAS Whyalla on coastal escort duty. He was in Sydney Harbour on 31st May 1942, the night of the Japanese midget-submarine attack and took part in the unsuccessful hunt for the mother submarine in terrible weather off the New South Wales coast. Later, on loan to the Royal Navy with 200 other Royal Australian Navy officers, he was sent to Scotland as an anti-submarine warfare instructor. His next posting took him to the minesweeper HMS Welcome on a hazardous mission in which several ships were blown up and lives lost. While the minesweeping force waited in Salonika for reinforcements, John did Red Cross work in northern Greece. When the war in Europe ended, still serving in minesweepers, he was sent to Singapore, returning from there to Australia after the Japanese surrender, as a Lieutenant Commander. He was placed on the Reserve of Officers on 19th March 1946. ^[3]

Following a fourteen-year career in the House of Representatives as the member for Calare (once held by his father), where he had been successful in six consecutive elections, John opened a Canberra office for the stockbroking firm of Ian Potter and the P&O Company. He went on to become resident director of P&O (Aust), as well as chairman of the boards of Macdonald Hamilton and the Perpetual Trustee Co. and as an adviser to the British firm of Swires.

John served on the council of the Australian War Memorial, organised the Sea Cadets in Canberra and was president of the Navy League of Australia. Another interest was the St John’s Ambulance. He served on the council and was created Knight of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (KStJ). Earlier, he had been awarded the Volunteer Reserve Decoration.

Turning his hand to farming, he took up a property, Clear Range, just outside Canberra, near Williamsdale. There, with the help of his three sons, John built a substantial log cabin and ran sheep.

Aged 88 years, John passed away on 17th July 2002 in Canberra. ^[4] He was survived by his wife, Valerie, daughter of Major General Rupert Downes, a director of Army Medical Services, whom he married in 1939, and three sons, Rob, Jonathan and Charles and their families.

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #50317/1913
2. ↑ Victoria Marriage Index #13675/1939
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll; accessed 7 Feb 2024
4. ↑ Farquharson, John. Howse, John Brooke (1913–2002). Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; accessed 7 Jun 2018

See also

• Farquharson, John. Howse, John Brooke (1913–2002). Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University; accessed 7 Jun 2018.