Major General Leonard Scott-Bowden CBE DSO MC and bar is a retired British army officer.
Contents |
Scott-Bowden was born in Whitehaven, Cumbria on 21 February 1920, the son of Lt.Col. Jonathan Scott-Bowden, OBE, TD, and Mary Scott-Bowden (née Logan).
He was educated at Malvern College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers on 3 July 1939 and rose steadily through the ranks.
At midnight 31 December 1943, with another army engineer, Sergeant Bruce Ogden-Smith, during 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 that allowed planners to cope with the weaker than expected beaches.[1]
In 1950 he married Helen Jocelyn, daughter of late Major Sir Francis Caradoc Rose Price, 5th Bt, and late Marjorie Lady Price. They had three sons and three daughters.
| 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) |
He held a number of appointments throughout his career including.
03.07.1939 commissioned, Corps of Royal Engineers
1940 served in Norway
04.05.1941 - 03.06.1942 Adjutant, 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division RE
1942 - 1943 Liaison Duties in Canada and USA
25.01.1943 - 24.05.1943 Adjutant
1943 - 1944 Normandy 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)
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 (Palestine)
1951 served in Libya
01.03.1951 - 11.02.1953 DAQMG, War Office
1953 served in Korea
24.07.1954 - 02.04.1956 Brigade Major, HQ Training Brigade
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 (CRE), 1st Division (British Army of the Rhine)
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
1971 - 1974 Head of British Defence Liaison Staff, India
1975-1980 Colonel Commandant RE [2]