General Sir Patrick Howard-Dobson, GCB

Born: 12^th August, 1921

Died: 8^th November, 2009

Chorister, Sportsman, Soldier, and Endless Volunteer

“General Pat”, as he was fondly known, managed throughout his life to combine a love of music and sports with both his formal career as a soldier, and his ‘retired’ career supporting a host of National and Regional organisations. A glance at this biographical summary shows just how effectively he blended these rare skills together:

1931-33	Chorister, Kings College Choir School – a period which he described as “all too short a stay in paradise”
1933-40	Framlingham College: Head Boy; Captain of Cricket – Scored 1,000 runs in the 1940 season – a record not broken for many a year
1941	Commissioned into The Yorkshire Hussars, but on arrival in Egypt was snapped-up by The 7^th Queen’s Own Hussars
1942-43	Burma Campaign
1944-45	Italian Campaign: Fought alongside American and Polish forces. Awarded US Silver Star and Polish Virtute Militari (Poland’s highest award for bravery)
1946	Talked into a Regular Commission by his commanding officer – an event which allowed him to marry his girlfriend, Barbara Mills

1947-50	Regimental duty, Germany	Daughter, Susan, is born 1949. Pat & Bar compete in many Horse Trials
1950-53	Passes Staff College1950 Regimental duty, UK	Son, Peter, is born 1951 Golf and Cricket predominate
1955-57	Regimental duty, Hong Kong	President Hong Kong Cricket Club. Son, Simon, is born 1955
1957-60	Regimental duty at Tidworth – 7^th & 3^rd Hussars combine to form The Queen’s Own Hussars Joint Services Staff College 1958	Some serious Cricket ensues: MCC Free Foresters CC I Zingari CC
1960-63	Directing Staff, Staff College	More of the same, time permitting
1963-65	Appointed a Lt. Colonel, and commanded his Regiment in Germany and the UK	Told to “do something about the Choir” by his Brigadier – so first joined it, and then took over as Choirmaster. The family starts Skiing
1965-67	Appointed a Brigadier, and commanded Twenty Armoured Brigade in Germany	Still plenty of time for Cricket, Golf, Squash and Hockey, and to develop a new love, Sailing
1969-71	Appointed a Major General and Chief of Staff, Far East Command in Singapore	In spite of a highly pressured role, finds plenty of time for the family, who all develop a passion for water-skiing and skin-diving. Pat become honourary Colonel of the Queen's Own Hussars in 1969, a position he holds until 1975
1972-74	Commandant, The Staff College, Camberley – thus completing a full-house: Student, Directing Staff and Commandant	President of the Society of Old Framlinghamians 1973-5. Pat was appointed a Commander of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1973
1974-76	To the Ministry of Defence, as Military Secretary, in the rank of Lieutenant General	Appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB). Sir Pat and his Lady begin to patrol the waters of the Channel and the North Sea each summer aboard “White Knight”, a Royal Armoured Corps Yacht Club Cruising cruiser
1977-79	Appointed Quartermaster General in the Ministry of Defence (a post once held by Samuel Pepys in Marlborough’s army of 1703)	Pat and Bar buy their own small yacht, “Ready About” in preparation for serious cruising in retirement
1979-81	Appointed a Full General and Vice Chief of Defence Staff, Personnel and Logistics – legend has it that it wasn’t the Army’s “turn” to hold the highest rank in the Armed Forces, otherwise he just might have been Chief of Defence staff and a Field Marshal to-boot!	Appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in 1979. From 1978-81 he also held the honorary post of Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty the Queen. Becomes honorary Colonel Commandant of the Army Catering Corps Inducted into the Worshipful Company of Cooks, and becomes a Freeman of the City of London
1981	Retires from the Army and, in 1986, moves to Snape, near Saxmundham, Suffolk	– The plan being to spend a lot more time sailing. However, there were to be many more demands on his time
1981-87	National President, Royal British Legion.	Becomes a Governor of Framlingham College
1981-88	Chairman of the Race Committee, Cutty Sark Tall Ships Races. Subsequently, Vice-Patron of the Tall Ships Youth trust until 2006	An excellent excuse for even more sailing back and forth across the North Sea
Just a small sample of some of Pat’s other retirement roles	Chairman, St Luke’s Hospital for the Clergy President, Friends of the Imperial War Museum President, Burma Star Association regional group Regional Director, Lloyds Bank	1987-91: Chairman of Governors, Framlingham College 1988-98: President, King’s College School Cambridge Association Governor, St John’s School, Leatherhead President, Herts Dunkirk Veterans Association
Here’s a more complete list of the organizations he remained connected with until his death (but there were a good few more)	Royal British Legion Army Benevolent Fund St. Luke’s Hospital for the Clergy Tall Ships Youth Trust Gurkha Welfare Trust Burma Star Association Royal Start and Garter Home Alzheimers Society Friends of the National Army Museum Royal National Lifeboat Institution St. John’s School, Leatherhead Friends of the Imperial War Museum Friends of St Edmundsbury War Memorials Trust Hertfordshire Conservation Society King’s College Choir School Association King’s College School Association Alde and Orr Association The Royal Logistics Corps	Society of Old Framlinghamians Army Catering Corps Association The Worshipful Company of Cooks Staff College Club Friends of Aldeburgh Music Royal Cruising Club Royal Armoured Corps Yacht Club Royal Worlington & Newmarket GC Aldeburgh Golf Club Army Catering Corps Golfing Society Army Golfers Society Senior Golfing Society Army Golf Association Army Cricket Association Free Foresters Cricket Club Stragglers of Asia Cricket Club I Zingari Cricket Club Sail Training Association Sail Training International

Pat and Bar remained stalwarts of the East Coast sailing, golfing and musical fraternity after moving to Snape in the mid-80s. They made their final two-handed channel crossing in “Ready About” in the Summer of 1998 – at the tender age of 77! (and they only stopped then because their adult children convinced them, somewhat against their will, that they’d had one too many ‘eventful’ crossings).

In May 2002, Patrick was “installed”, with some dozen others of the most senior members of the Order of the Bath, in the King Henry VII Chapel of Westminster Abbey, where his standard and shield remain until the Spring of 2010, when the next installation of Knights occurs. His Arms feature the pierced crowns of St Edmund, mirroring the shield of Framlingham College; an Owl representing the Staff College; and the rearing white stallion of the Queen’s Own Hussars.

Bar died in August 2004 after a long stroke-induced decline, leaving an enormous hole in Pat’s life. He began to be affected by Alzheimers disease not very long afterwards. Fortunately, its progression was slow and gentle and, with the support of a wonderful care team, he was able to remain in his own home, and to take some part in many local and regional events, until just before he died.

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