HOWARD David Liddon Lieut

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Surname: HOWARD;

Forename(s): David Liddon;

Initials: DL;

Rank: Lieut;

Previous Regiment: Middx Regt;

MGC Branch: Infantry;

MGC Unit: 59 Coy;

Other MGC Unit Served (1): 217 Coy;

Other MGC Unit Served (2): 20 Bn;

Awarded: MC, bar to MC;

Gallantry Notes: MC: For conspicuous gallantry in action. He brought three machine guns into action 40 yards from the enemy and stopped their attack dead. On another occasion he did similar fine work.

bar to MC:For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. While in command of a machine gun company he handled his guns with great skill and dash. Later he took over command of details of all sorts, organising the defence on two occasions. A number of men being in a barn in a shelled area, he at once went across and moved them to a flank, steadying them and seeing that all men had their equipment and rifles with them. He showed exceptional ability throughout these operations.;

Other Data: Mill Hill Sch: b 24/5/1896 son of Alexander Liddon Howard, The Lynch House, Totteridge, Herts. Hon Arty Coy, MGC, Major, Belgium & France MC & Bar. 15 Chester Terr, Regents Park, NW1
MC confirmed in war diary 59 Coy 6/9/1916
21/1/1918 transf from 59 Coy to be 2 I/c 217 Coy
MH106 - QA Mil Hosp Millbank 4/1/19-30/7/19: aged 22, abrasions rt knee & ankle
address 1946: Royal Thames Yacht Club, 60 Knightsbridge, SW1
MC & Bar offered for sale Canterbury Auction Galleries Nov '16:
A George V First World War Military Cross and Bar, to Temp. 2nd. Lt. David Liddon Howard, Machine Gun Corps, the reverse of the medal engraved "Guillemont, September 1916", contained in mauve leather covered case of issue and with black and white photograph and twelve copy pages of handwritten "War Diary or Intelligence Summary" 21st March - 28th March 1918 detailing actions and movements (in ebonised box frame and glazed)
Note: Entry in London Gazette, 20th October 1916, (Pg. 10183) - "For Conspicuous Gallantry in Action. He brought three machine-guns into action 40 yards from the enemy and stopped their attack dead. On another occasion he did similar fine work."
Subsequent entry in London Gazette, 16th September 1918 (Pg. 10892) - "For Conspicuous Gallantry and devotion to duty. While in command of a machine-gun company he handled his gun with great skill and dash. Later, he took over command of details of all sorts, organizing the defence in two occasions. A number of men being in a barn in a shelled area, he at once went across and moved them to a flank, steadying them and seeing that all men had there equipment and rifles with them. He showed Exceptional Ability throughout these operations.

Re-Offered Feb '17 Canterbury Auction Galleries

From a family history:
David Howard was a true English gentleman. He had served
with distinction in WW1 and won an MC with the Machine Gun
Corps. His proud boast after Elizabeth II's accession was
that, born in 1896, his own life then spanned six reigns.
Though hardly a unique circumstance, it meant much to him as a
man of fierce loyalty to the Crown. GB remembers his
insistence that all should stand for the national anthem
before the Monarch's Christmas Day wireless broadcast on the
BBC Home Service; what might otherwise have seemed contrived
felt entirely natural in David's company. He was a member of
the Royal Thames Yacht Club and a notable off-shore sailor in
his yacht the Wych; he was a good shot, a reliable golfer and
an enthusiastic participant in croquet and bowls in the
garden. He drank well, dined well and was generous to a
fault.
David died on 10 Aug 1958 and is buried in Hawkhurst parish
church, where Ursula joined him 27 years later. The
inscription she put on his tombstone is a model of
appositeness: 'He loved life and was not afraid of death'.;

Other Notes: MC: LG 20/10/1916
bar to MC: LG 16/9/1918;

END OF RECORD.

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