John Cowans
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Sir John Cowans
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Lt-Gen Sir John S Cowans: circa 1914
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| Born | 11 March 1862 Carlisle, United Kingdom |
| Died | 16 April 1921 (aged 59) Menton, France |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |
 British Army |
| Years of service | 1881-1919 |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Member of the Royal Victorian Order |
General Sir John ("Jack") Stephen Cowans GCB GCMG MVO (11 March 1862 – 16 April 1921) was Quartermaster-General to the Forces.
Military career
Educated at Burney's Academy at Gosport,[1] Cowans was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1881.[2]
He became a Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General at Army Headquarters in 1898 before moving on to be Assistant Quartermaster-General for 2nd Division at Aldershot Command in 1903.[2] In 1906 he was appointed Director-General of Military Education for the Indian Army and in 1907 he became Director of Staff Duties and Training at Army Headquarters in India.[2] He then became Commander of the Presidency Brigade in Calcutta in 1908.[2]
He returned to the United Kingdom in 1910 to be Director-General of the Territorial Forces and then became Quartermaster-General to the Forces in 1912; in this capacity he was responsible for finding acccommodation and supplies for more than a million newly enlisted servicemen at the start of World War I and worked closely with the Women's Legion and the YMCA to achieve this.[1]
Prime Minister Herbert Asquith described him as the best Quartermaster since Moses.[3]
He retired in 1919.[2]
Family
In 1884, he married Eva Mary Coulson: they had no children.[1]
Honours and decorations
In October 1919, Cowans was appointed a Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer by Alexander of Greece, King of the Hellenes; this is the highest grade of the highest order of Greece.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 John Cowans at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ↑ Wipers Dead Time Magazine, 1 June 1925
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31615. p. 13002. 21 October 1919. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Quartermaster-General to the Forces 1912–1919 |
Succeeded by Sir Travers Clarke |
