Anthony Wilson Cowgill (7 November 1915 – 29 October 2009) was a British soldier, engineer and researcher. After a 30-year career in the Army he worked for Rolls-Royce and set up a company offering information and access to government. Past retirement age he initiated his own private inquiry into the

Repatriation of Cossacks after World War II The repatriation of the Cossacks or betrayal of the Cossacks occurred when Cossacks (ethnic Russians and Ukrainians) who were opposed to the Soviet Union and fought for Nazi Germany, were handed over by British and American forces to the Soviet U ...

, and published the English texts of European Union treaties.

World War II service

Cowgill was the son of a mill manager from Yorkshire, and studied at

Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational private day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination. For the sixth form admission is based on GCSE results. The school gives means-tested ...

and then

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

before studying mining engineering at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. He joined the army shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, being promoted to Lieutenant in the

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equi ...

in 1941. Cowgill later transferred to the

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's professional engineers". History Prior t ...

and spent a year in Canada working on waterproofing

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s ready for D-Day. He was himself in France after D-Day and was present at the

German surrender at Lüneburg Heath On 4 May 1945, at 18:30 British Double Summer Time, at Lüneburg Heath, south of Hamburg, British Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery accepted the unconditional surrender of the German forces in the Netherlands, northwest Germany including ...

on 4 May 1945.

Later career

Early in 1945 Cowgill was awarded an MBE. He served in India on the Partition Commission, and in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, retiring from the Army with the rank of Brigadier in April 1969. Cowgill then joined

Rolls-Royce Limited Rolls-Royce Limited was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's good reputation established with his Crane ( ...

as chief industrial engineer, taking responsibility for developing the

Rolls-Royce RB211 The Rolls-Royce RB211 is a British family of high-bypass turbofan engines made by Rolls-Royce Holdings, Rolls-Royce. The engines are capable of generating of thrust. The RB211 engine was the first production turbofan#Three-spool, three-spool e ...

jet engine; the costs of the project caused the company to go under and led to its nationalisation in 1971.

British Management Data Foundation

Having conducted a joint study project with several companies in the 1960s, Cowgill set up the British Work Measurement Data Foundation in 1970. This body led on in 1979 to the British Management Data Foundation, which Cowgill and his son Andrew ran from home in the Cotswolds. The foundation provides briefing on public policy issues, and also kept subscribers in touch with the highest level of government via briefings with

Bernard Ingham Sir Bernard Ingham (21 June 1932 – 24 February 2023) was a British journalist and civil servant. He was Margaret Thatcher's chief press secretary throughout her time as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. Background Ingha ...

, then Press Secretary to Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

. After Ingham's retirement, Cowgill disclosed the briefings, describing them as "invariably of great value".

Inquiry into repatriations

In 1986

Nikolai Tolstoy Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky (; born 23 June 1935), better known as Count Nikolai Tolstoy, is a British historian and writer. He is a former parliamentary candidate of the UK Independence Party and is the current nominal hea ...

published "The Minister and the Massacres", a history of the repatriations from Austria to Soviet forces of Axis supporting troops, many anti-communist Cossacks (many of the repatriated troops were killed, and the rest sent to forced labour camps). Tolstoy accused former Prime Minister

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

of conspiring to go beyond the agreement at the

Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (), held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The three sta ...

and send anti-Soviet troops to their deaths. When he read the book, Cowgill was shocked and formed an independent commission of inquiry to determine the truth. Tolstoy at first co-operated with the inquiry, sharing documents and contact details for surviving witnesses. Cowgill's conclusion, outlined in an initial report in September 1988 and a final report in October 1990, was that the repatriations were in line with policy, there had been no conspiracy and Macmillan's role was minimal.

European treaties

At the time of the controversy over British ratification of the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Communities, ...

, Cowgill reacted to the complaints that MPs were being asked to approve a treaty they had not read (and which the government refused to publish) by obtaining and publishing the text showing how it would amend the consolidated

Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...

. Copies were sent to every MP by Sir

Keith Joseph Keith Sinjohn Joseph, Baron Joseph, (17 January 1918 – 10 December 1994), known as Sir Keith Joseph, 2nd Baronet, for most of his political life, was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a minister under f ...

and

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

was said to have admired the enterprise. The British Management Data Foundation has gone on to publish similar analysis of later EU treaties. Cowgill endorsed 'Business for Sterling' when they were set up in 1998 to oppose British participation in the

Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowgill, Anthony 1915 births 2009 deaths People educated at Bradford Grammar School People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of the University of Birmingham Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers officers Members of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Ordnance Corps officers