Admiral Sir Walter Henry Cowan, 1st Baronet, (11 June 1871 – 14 February 1956), known as Tich Cowan, was a Royal Navy officer who saw service in both the First and Second World Wars; in the latter he was one of the oldest British servicemen on active duty.

Early life

Cowan was born in Crickhowell, in Brecknockshire, Wales, on 11 June 1871, the eldest son of Walter Frederick James Cowan, an officer in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. After his father's retirement from the British Army, the family settled in Alveston, Warwickshire, where his father became a justice of the peace.

Cowan never went to school, but entered the Royal Navy in 1884 at the training ship, HMS Britannia, a classmate to fellow future admiral David Beatty.

Early service career

In 1886, as midshipmen, Cowan and Beatty joined , flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. Cowan saw service in Benin and Nigeria in 1887. He later took command of the destroyer and acted as second-in-command of the Devonport destroyer flotilla under Roger Keyes, who was then developing new destroyer tactics. They became firm friends. Cowan commanded several more destroyers, acquiring a widespread reputation as a destroyer captain, and then succeeded Keyes in command of the flotilla. In 1904 he was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order. In 1905 he took command of and he was promoted captain in 1906. He transferred to the cruiser in 1907. In 1908, he took command of all destroyers of the Channel Fleet. In 1909, he transferred to the Third Division of the Home Fleet with command of the nucleus-crewed , and in 1910 he became captain of the new light cruiser . In 1912, Cowan became Assistant to John de Robeck, who was then Admiral of Patrols.

First World War

In 1914, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, Cowan was given command of the old pre-dreadnought . He was awarded the Cross of Liberty (VR I/1) of Estonia.

Between the wars

In 1921, Cowan was appointed to command the Battlecruiser Squadron,

Cowan also saw action subsequently at the Battle of Bir Hakeim, where, having attached himself to the Indian 18th King Edward VII's Own Cavalry, he was captured on 27 May 1942,

Cowan retired once more in 1945. After the war he was invited to become the honorary colonel of the 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry, and visited India to receive the post, which he considered the greatest he had attained in his extensive military career.

Death and tribute

thumb|Crest of the Estonian ship

Cowan died on 14 February 1956, in his 85th year. The Cowan Baronetcy became extinct on his death.

In 2007 the Estonian Navy named a British-made minehunter of the the . The ship's crest is based on Cowan's family arms. Memorials in the Estonian capital Tallinn, in the Latvian capital Riga and in Portsmouth Cathedral commemorate the 110 men of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force killed in the Baltic action of 1919.

Footnotes

Further reading

  • Cowan's War, The British Naval Action in the Baltic in 1919 by Geoffrey Bennett (1964). Republished in 2002 as Freeing the Baltic.
  • Sound of the guns, being an account of the wars and service of Admiral Sir Walter Cowan by Lionel George Dawson, (Pen-in-hand, Oxford, 1949)
  • HMS Hood Association biography

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