General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Samuel Cowan (born 9 October 1941) is a former

Quartermaster-General to the Forces The Quartermaster-General to the Forces (QMG) is a senior general in the British Army. The post has become symbolic: the Ministry of Defence organisation charts since 2011 have not used the term "Quartermaster-General to the Forces"; they simply ...

Career

Educated at Lisburn Technology College and the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

, Cowan was commissioned into the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

in 1963. In 1980, he became

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the Headquarters & Signals Regiment for 2nd Armoured Division. In 1989 he was selected to be

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the

Royal Military College of Science The Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) was a British postgraduate school, research institution and training provider with origins dating back to 1772. It became part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in 2009, and ceased to exis ...

and then in 1991 he became Assistant Chief of Defence Staff, Operational Requirements (Land Systems). From 1995 he undertook a tour as Inspector General for Doctrine & Training. He was

from 1996 to 1998 when he became

Chief of Defence Logistics Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

. He retired in 2002. He was an

Aide-de-Camp General Aide-de-camp general is a senior honorary appointment for General (United Kingdom), generals in the British Army. The recipient is appointed as an aide-de-camp general to the head of state, currently King Charles III. They are entitled to the post- ...

to the Queen. He was also

Colonel Commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

of the

, the

Brigade of Gurkhas Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective name which refers to all the units in the British Army that are composed of Gurkha, Nepalese Gurkha soldiers. The brigade draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Arm ...

and of the Army Legal Corps.

Nepal studies

Cowan was associated with

Gurkhas The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with the endonym Gorkhali ( Nepali: गोर्खाली ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of North India. The Gurkha units consist of Nepali and ...

via various positions in his job role. He first visited

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

in 1966. During his annual visits to Nepal as Colonel Commandant, he had audiences with the reigning monarchs of Nepal, delivered a report on the

, and trekked numerous times. After his retirement, he published ''Essays on Nepal'', in which he covered Nepal affairs including its frontiers, the Maoist insurgency, human rights, corruption in high places, and the manner of governance. Cowan is a frequent and prolific contributor to ''The Record'' (Nepal), an independent digital publication from

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

. He has written over a dozen articles for the publication on a wide range of Nepal-related subjects, including the history of the Rana regime, reflections on the British Gurkhas, border issues between Nepal and India, and those between Nepal and China.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Samuel 1941 births British Army generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Corps of Signals officers Living people Military personnel from Lisburn Historians of Nepal Himalayan studies