Charles Henry George Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk, 13th Earl of Berkshire, GC (March 2, 1906 – May 12, 1941) was an English bomb disposal expert who was also an earl in the Peerage of England, belonging to the ancient Howard family. He was styled Viscount Andover until 1917. He was the son of the 19th Earl of Suffolk and his American wife, the former Margaret Leiter (sister of Lady Curzon and daughter of the American businessman Levi Leiter). He entered Dartmouth College to become a naval officer but quit soon after and headed to Liverpool where he joined a windjammer. Upon his return from Liverpool, his family bought him a commission in the Scots Guards. He was asked to resign from his post by his superiors because of his "wild ways". He worked as a Jackaroo in Australia from 1928 to 1934. [1]
In 1934, he married Chicago-born ballet dancer[1] Mimi Forde-Pigott, by whom he had three children:
The Earl enrolled at Edinburgh University, graduating three years later with a first-class honours degree in Chemistry. The Nuffield Laboratory at Oxford University offered him a research post in the area of "explosives and poisons". [1] As Liaison Officer for the British Department of Scientific and Industrial Research during World War II, the 20th Earl of Suffolk was charged with rescuing rare machine tools, $10 million worth of industrial diamonds, fifty French scientists and heavy water.[2] The Earl, accompanied by his private confidential secretary, Eileen Beryl Morden, comprised a part of France's scientific elite as the Nazis advanced through the country. The Earl and Miss Morden were successful in their objective of ushering the scientists out of France, as well as securing the industrial diamonds and heavy water. Howard's approach to his missions earned him the nickname "Mad Jack".
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Following his return from France, the Earl worked for the Ministry of Supply as a Research Officer learning how to defuse bombs of new and unknown types.[3] The Earl served as part of an unexploded bomb detachment in London during the Blitz. The detachment consisted of himself, Morden, and his chauffeur, Fred Hards. They called themselves "the Holy Trinity" and they became famed for their prowess in detecting and successfully tackling thirty-four unexploded bombs with "urbane and smiling efficiency."[4] Morden stood by his side taking notes, as the Earl worked at defusing the bombs.[5] Sadly, the thirty-fifth claimed its forfeit when all three were killed on Erith Marshes in Kent on 12 May 1941.
The bomb, a 250kg (500lb) weapon, was at one of the so-called 'bomb cemeteries', on open ground on the marshes. Bombs were transferred here after being temporarily made safe for transport, and then destroyed using controlled explosions. The bomb had been dropped some six months earlier in the previous autumn and after removal and transfer to the marshes had been at Erith for so long it had been known to the Sappers as 'Old Faithfull'. Containing two separate fuzes, a Type (17) and a Type (50), these two types were in short supply to the Bomb Disposal Sections, intact fuzes being required for instructional purposes and it was for the purpose of recovering the fuzes that the Earl was dealing with bomb. The Type (17) was a delayed-action fuze containing a clockwork mechanism, while the Type (50) was an anti-handling device containing a motion sensor. Both fuzes had been temporarily made-safe so that the bomb could be transferred from the impact site to an open area, however the fuzes remained inside the bomb. In addition the Germans had also implemented on some bombs a Zus 40 booby trap, that detonated the bomb when an attempt was made at withdrawing the Type (17). The Zus 40 was positioned below the other fuze, and so was not visible until the obvious fuze was partially withdrawn from its pocket. At lunchtime of the 12th May the Earl had telephoned his office to say that the Type (17) was ticking and that he had sent for a Mk II KIM clock-stopper. By 14:45 this was in place along with a stethoscope, and preparations were being made to sterilise the bomb with steam. As two Sappers were going to fetch water for the steamer, the bomb exploded. The explosion killed the Earl, Hards, Morden - who died in the ambulance - and eleven other people who had been nearby, including five Sappers who had been working alongside the Earl on the bomb. It was later surmised that a Zus 40 may have been triggered as the Earl was removing it.[6]
For his work in Bomb Disposal the Earl was awarded the George Cross.[7]
In 1973, the BBC based a television drama series on the life of the Earl. Ronald Pickup played the leading role in The Dragon's Opponent. The Earl has a role in Michael Ondaatje's novel, The English Patient.
| Peerage of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Howard |
Earl of Suffolk 1917–1941 |
Succeeded by Michael Howard |
| Earl of Berkshire 1917–1941 |
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