General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Geoffrey Hugh Whitby Howlett, (5 February 1930 – 21 April 2022) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who was Commander-in-Chief of

Allied Forces Northern Europe Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) was the northern Major Subordinate command (military formation), Command of NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Allied Command Europe (ACE), located at Kolsås outside Oslo. In the case of war ...

Military career

Educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: New Zealand * Wellington College, Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington College of Education, now the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Girls' College, Wellington, N ...

and at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, Howlett was commissioned into the

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

in 1950.Who's Who 2009 He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in 1952. In 1971 Howlett was appointed

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment The Second Battalion, Parachute Regiment (2 PARA), is a formation of the Parachute Regiment, part of the British Army, and subordinate unit within 16th Air Assault Brigade. 2 PARA is an airborne light infantry battalion capable of a wide rang ...

and in 1975 he was made

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

16th Parachute Brigade The 16th Parachute Brigade was an airborne infantry brigade of the British Army. In February 1948 the 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade left the 6th Airborne Division and moved to Germany, becoming part of the British Army of the Rhine. The 6th ...

. He was

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

1st Armoured Division from 1979 and Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 1982 to 1983 when he became GOC South East District. He was made Commander-in-Chief of

in 1986; he retired in 1989. Howlett was

Colonel Commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

of the Parachute Regiment from 1983 to 1990. He died on 21 April 2022, at the age of 92.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Howlett, Geoffrey 1930 births 2022 deaths British Army generals British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency British military personnel of the Suez Crisis British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) British Parachute Regiment officers Commandants of Sandhurst Free Foresters cricketers Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers Recipients of the Military Cross