Major General Leonard Scott-Bowden CBE

CBE

CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...

 DSO

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

 MC

Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

 and bar

Medal bar

A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...

 was a British army officer.

Early life

Scott-Bowden was born in Whitehaven

Whitehaven

Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...

, Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

 on 21 February 1920. He was the son of Lt.Col. Jonathan Scott-Bowden, OBE, TD

Territorial Decoration

The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...

, and Mary Scott-Bowden (née Logan).

He was educated at Malvern College

Malvern College

Malvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England. Founded on 25 January 1865, until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18...

 and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers

Royal Engineers

The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

 on 3 July 1939 and rose steadily through the ranks.

At midnight 31 December 1943, with another army engineer, for Operation Bell Push Able, he landed on the Normandy beaches that were planned to be used for the D Day landings to take samples of the material from the beach. They found that the sand, in places, was thin and supported by weak peat material. They took samples back to the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 that allowed planners to cope with the weaker than expected beaches.

In 1950 he married Helen Jocelyn, daughter of late Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 Sir

Sir

Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...

 Francis Caradoc Rose Price, 5th Bt

Baronet

A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

, and late Marjorie Lady Price. They had three sons and three daughters.

Ranks

2nd Lt. 03.07.1939	Lt. 03.01.1941	A/Capt. 15.11.1940-14.02.1941	T/Capt. 15.02.1941-24.08.1943	WS/Capt. 25.08.1943	Capt. 01.07.1946	A/Maj. 25.05.1943-24.08.1943	T/Maj. 25.08.1943-02.07.1952
Maj. 03.07.1952	T/Lt.Col. 20.02.1959-19.08.1960	Lt.Col. 20.08.1960 (supernumerary 20.08.1963)	T/Col. 31.03.1964-10.07.1964	Col. 11.07.1964	T/Brig. 20.05.1966-30.12.1966	Brig. 31.12.1966	Maj.Gen. ?	(retd 1974)

Awards

• CBE 1972
• DSO 15.06.1944 Operation Bell Push Able (Normandy reconnaissance 01.44)
• OBE 1964
• MC 02.03.1944 Operation KJH (Normandy reconnaissance 12.43-01.44)
• MC 24.01.1946

Appointments

He held a number of appointments throughout his career including.

03.07.1939 commissioned, Corps of Royal Engineers

Royal Engineers

The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

1940 served in Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

04.05.1941 - 03.06.1942 Adjutant

Adjutant

Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...

, 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division  RE

1942 - 1943 Liaison Duties in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and USA

25.01.1943 - 24.05.1943 Adjutant

Adjutant

Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...

1943 - 1944 Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 Beach Reconnaissance Team

1944 - (1945) Officer Commanding, 17th Field Company RE (NW Europe)

29.05.1946 - 02.12.1946 GSO2, HQ Allied Land Forces South East Asia (Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

)

03.12.1946 - 18.10.1947 Brigade Major, 98th Indian Infantry Brigade (Burma)

16.10.1950 - 03.12.1950 SORE2, HQ British Troops in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 (Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

)

1951 served in Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

01.03.1951 - 11.02.1953 DAQMG, War Office

1953 served in Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

24.07.1954 - 02.04.1956 Brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

 Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

, HQ Training Brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

01.04.1958 - 18.02.1959 GSO2 Joint Secretariat HQ British Forces Arabian Peninsular

20.02.1959 - 24.04.1960 GSO1 (Plans) (Arabia)

1960 - (1962) Commander Royal Engineers

Royal Engineers

The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

 (CRE), 1st Division (British Army of the Rhine

British Army of the Rhine

There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...

)

20.12.1962 - 29.03.1964 GSO1 (Home Defence Plans), UK Land Forces HQ, Eastern Command

31.03.1964 - 06.05.1966 Assistant Director of Plans, War Office

20.05.1966 - (01.1967) Commander, HQ Training Brigade

1969 National Defence College, India

1970 - 1971 Commander Ulster Defence Regiment

Ulster Defence Regiment

The Ulster Defence Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army which became operational in 1970, formed on similar lines to other British reserve forces but with the operational role of defence of life or property in Northern Ireland against armed attack or sabotage...

1971 - 1974 Head of British Defence Liaison Staff, India

1975-1980 Colonel Commandant RE