Major General David Tennant Cowan, (9 October 1896 – 15 April 1983), also known as "Punch" Cowan, was an officer in the

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 ...

and

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

during the First and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

s. He led the 17th Indian Infantry Division during almost the entire

Burma campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

Early career and inter-war years

Cowan was educated at

Reading School Reading School is a state grammar school for boys with academy status in the English town of Reading, the county of Berkshire. It traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey and is, thus, one of the oldest schools in England, alth ...

and Glasgow University. He was commissioned into the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) is a light infantry company (military unit), company (designated as Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland) and was a line infantry regiment of the British Army tha ...

in August 1915, a year after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

began. 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 ...

and

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

, he was attached to the Indian Army in 1917, his appointment being confirmed in March 1918 whilst serving with the 4th battalion 3rd Gurkha Rifles. He later joined the

6th Gurkha Rifles The 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence. Originally raised in 1817 as part of the army of the British East India Compa ...

. The citation for his MC reads: Between the wars, he served on the North-West frontier (where he was again mentioned in despatches for service in

Waziristan Waziristan (Persian language, Persian, Pashto, Ormuri, , ) is a mountainous region of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts: North Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan Dis ...

) and in various staff positions. From 1932 to 1934, he was the Chief Instructor at the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

and in 1937 he was once more mentioned in despatches during a further tour of duty in Waziristan. By the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was in command of the 1st Battalion,

Field hockey

Cowan also played field hockey in regimental army teams in United Kingdom and India. He was appointed the captain of the Indian Army national field hockey team for their first international tour of New Zealand and Australia in 1926. He also served as the team manager for the tour.

Second World War

He was appointed a General Staff Officer, 1st grade in India from 18 September 1940 to 17 February 1941. Appointed acting brigadier, he was Director of Military Training in India from 18 February 1941 to 30 September 1941, then deputy director of Military Training in India 1 October 1941 to 14 December 1941, then Director of Military Training in India from 15 December 1941 to 1 March 1942. When the Japanese invaded

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

, he was posted to

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

, initially as a staff officer in Burma Army HQ with rather ill-defined duties, but was appointed acting Major-General and commander of the Indian 17th Infantry Division when its previous commander, Jackie Smyth VC, was relieved after a bridge was blown behind the retreating division and much of it was cut off. He remained in command of the division for the rest of the

Burma Campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

: during the retreat into India, the fighting around Tiddim in 1943, the

Battle of Imphal The Battle of Imphal () took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in Northeast India from March until July 1944. Empire of Japan, Japanese armies attempted to destroy the Allied forces at Imphal and ...

in 1944 and the drive into Central Burma in 1945. Early in 1945, his son was killed whilst serving as an officer in Cowan's old unit (1/6 Gurkha Rifles). He fought the decisive Battle of Meiktila having suffered this loss, although only a few close friends were aware of it. For his leadership in Burma he was twice awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

. His army commander, Bill Slim, was later to write about Cowan's handling of the Meiktila battle: He was promoted to the rank of substantive Major-General on 12 February 1945.Half Yearly Army List January 1946 A fine picture of the soldier's life, fighting in his Division, is found in George MacDonald Fraser's memoir ''Quartered Safe Out Here'' (London, Harvill 1993). He was intended to lead the Indian army contingent of the Commonwealth Corps being tentatively formed to participate in the planned invasion of Japan. The surrender of Japan changed these plans, and Cowan instead led the joint British-Indian division BRINDIV, part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, in Japan. In 1947, he handed over command of this force and retired from the army.

Career summary

* Commissioned 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (1915) * Transferred to

, British Indian Army (1917) * Attended Command and Staff College,

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

(1927–1928) * Assistant Military Secretary,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(1930–1932) * Chief Instructor at Indian Military Academy (1932–1934) * General Staff Officer 2, India, Waziristan (1936–1938) * Commanding Officer 1st Battalion 6th Gurkha Rifles (1939–1940) * General Staff Officer 1, India (1940–1941) * Deputy Director of Military Training, India (1941–1942) * General Officer Commanding Indian 17th Infantry Division,

(1942) * General Officer Commanding 17th Indian Light Division, Burma (1942–1944) * General Officer Commanding 17th Indian Division, Burma (1944–1945) * General Officer Commanding Force152 (1945) * General Officer Commanding BRINJAP Division, Japan (1945–1947) * Retired (1947)

References

Bibliography

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External links

Indian Army Officers 1939–1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, David Tennant 1896 births 1983 deaths Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers British Army personnel of World War I Indian Army personnel of World War I Indian Army generals of World War II Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British military personnel of the Waziristan Campaign People educated at Reading School Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta Deputy lieutenants of Devon Alumni of the University of Glasgow British Indian Army generals British people in colonial India Indian male field hockey players British male field hockey players British expatriates in Spain