Thomas Graham Howarth, (15 February 1916 – 8 April 2015) was an English

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

of the National History Museum and member of the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

who spent three years as a Japanese prisoner during the Second World War, first at

Changi Changi () is a planning area located in the geographical region of Tanah Merah in the East Region of Singapore. Sharing borders with Pasir Ris and Tampines to the west, Changi Bay to the southeast, the South China Sea to the east and the Sera ...

and then at Jinsen in Korea. He relieved the monotony by collecting insect specimens, in the course of which he discovered a new species. He took his collection of around 1500 specimens with him when he returned to Britain where it is known as The Graham Howarth PoW collection at the Natural History Museum and occupies 13 trays. In 1941, while still in England, he was a volunteer firefighter during the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

and was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

for saving the life of another firefighter. The butterfly genus ''

Howarthia ''Howarthia'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer ...

'' is named after him.

References

English entomologists 1916 births 2015 deaths People from Muswell Hill People associated with the Natural History Museum, London Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers Recipients of the British Empire Medal British World War II prisoners of war British Army personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Japan {{UK-entomologist-stub