Alec Douglas Howie (3 September 1913 − 22 May 1940) was a first-class cricketer who made one appearance for the Indian army cricket team. He died during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in the

Battle of Belgium The invasion of Belgium or Belgian campaign (10–28 May 1940), often referred to within Belgium as the 18 Days' Campaign (french: Campagne des 18 jours, nl, Achttiendaagse Veldtocht), formed part of the greater Battle of France, an offensive ...

in 1940.

Early life

Alec Douglas Howie was born on 3 September 1913 in

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared as on ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, British India. He was the son of Charles Thomas and Ethel Muriel Howie.

Cricket career

Howie appeared in one match for the Indian Army cricket team against

Northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

in the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

. The match was played on 4 December 1934 at Lawrence Gardens,

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

. Howie batted 49 runs during the match, and also

bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (T ...

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, taking no

wickets In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...

. Northern India won the match by an

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

and 52 runs.

Military career and death

Howie enlisted in the 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment as soon as he finished his education. In 1940, the battalion was sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force. In May of the same year, the battalion advanced into

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

to stop the German invasion, but were pushed back to a defensive line at the Escaut river. Serving as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

during the Battle of the Escaut, Howie was killed in action on 22 May 1940. The battalion was forced back from the Escaut to the Dunkirk beachhead soon after, and was evacuated to England. Howie is buried at Heverlee War Cemetery.

References

External links

*
CWGC entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howie, Alec 1913 births 1940 deaths People from Saharanpur English cricketers Indian Army cricketers East Surrey Regiment soldiers British Army personnel killed in World War II Burials at Heverlee Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery Military personnel of British India