Lieutenant-Commander Colin John de Mowbray,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(12 April 1945 – 11 July 2010) was a helicopter pilot and veteran of the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

; in retirement he sailed in, and organised, round-the-world yacht races.

Early life and education

De Mowbray was the son of a Royal Navy captain. He attended

Stowe School , motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent school, day & boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster ...

and from September 1963 the Britannia Royal Naval College in

Dartmouth, Devon Dartmouth () is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the western bank of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes. It lies within the ...

before going to the Royal Naval Air Station in

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

Military career

In the 1960s he served as a "jungly" in Borneo, flying the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

45 Commando 45 Commando Royal Marines (pronounced "four-five commando") is a battalion sized unit of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of th ...

to and from jungle locations that he was advised to "memorise then forget". In 1976 he attended the staff course at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. In the late 1970s served on the British naval staff in Washington, DC. In 1982 during the

he was

Executive Officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

and First-Lieutenant (second in command) of

HMS Alacrity Nine ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Alacrity'': * was an 18-gun launched in 1806 and captured by the French in 1811. * was a 10-gun brig-sloop launched in 1818 and sold in 1835. * was a wooden screw sloop launched in 1856 and sol ...

. From 1984 until 85 he commanded

845 Naval Air Squadron 845 Naval Air Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. Part of the Commando Helicopter Force, it is a specialist amphibious unit operating the AgustaWestland Commando Merlin HC4 helicopter and provides troop transport and load ...

. He was appointed MBE in 1992 and retired from the Navy in 1994.

Retirement

In 1996 De Mowbray was the skipper of ''Crysolite'' in the first

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is a biennial race that takes paying amateur crews on one or more legs of a circumnavigation of the globe in 11 specially-designed identical yachts owned by Clipper Ventures. Professional skippers and addi ...

. He went on to become race director from 1998 until 2003, and then operations director, responsible for liaison with sponsor cities and host ports. He continued to work for Clipper Ventures until shortly before his death.

Clipper Race Yacht Club

De Mowbray was the founder and first Commodore of the Clipper Race Yacht Club. He described it as "a logical way to bring some gentle order to this special group of adventurers". On 24 April 2009 the club was officially launched at a ceremony at St Katharine's Dock. The purpose of the club is to create an association of Clipper alumni to the mutual advantage of all parties and for the purpose of having fun. Membership is open to individuals who have completed at least one leg of the Clipper Round the World yacht race, or competed with Clipper in another approved race, or have been associated with Clipper Ventures as a staff member.

References

External links

Obituary in ''The Herald Scotland''de Mowbray - Colin, Vanessa, Clare, Sarah, Ric
de Mowbray family web site
Clipper Race Yacht Club

Colin's blog Obituary in ''The Times''Obituary in ''The Kirkintilloch Herald''Sail World article on the Red Socks RegattaClipper alumni paints the Solent red in memory of Colin de Mowbray MBEClipper Race Yacht Club Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Mowbray, Colin 1945 births 2010 deaths Fleet Air Arm aviators Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the Falklands War English male sailors (sport) Helicopter pilots Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Stowe School Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College People from High Wycombe People from Lymington