Henry Howitt; Second World War hero (Globe and Mail
Hyfler/Rosner
Tank commander helped liberate Europe
After the war, he practised law and became a provincial
court judge in Guelph
SANDRA MARTIN
March 9, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090309.OBHOWITT09//TPStory/Obituaries
A war hero, who was awarded the Military Cross for
commanding a Sherman tank troop in some of the deadliest
fighting in the liberation of Belgium and the Netherlands,
Henry Howitt was the first man across the canal in the
northern part of Bergen op Zoom, among many other heroic
feats. After the war he resumed his interrupted law career
and eventually became a provincial court judge in Guelph,
Ont.
Dubbed hanging or hammering Hank, he was known for his tough
and decisive rulings. When asked why he didn't hand down
lengthy decisions, he reportedly said: "People don't want to
listen to a speech; they can go to church if they want a
sermon."
His reputation for harshness was unfounded, according to
lawyer Richard Chaloner, a former Crown attorney who often
appeared before Judge Howitt. "I found him decisive and very
fair. Very few of his decisions or sentences were appealed
and very few [of them] were overturned," Mr. Chaloner said.
"In my experience, he was no heavier than anybody else and
when it came to young people who needed a break, they would
get it from him just as much as another judge."
Once on a trip to Thunder Bay in the late 1950s or early
60s, he was staying in a hotel. It happened to be Grey Cup
weekend and Mr. Howitt, a sports fan, was watching the game
and sipping a drink in the hotel bar.
"You sure look like the judge who just sent my brother to
jail for 30 days. Are you that guy?" a stranger demanded
menacingly, recounted his son, Chuck Howitt, at his father's
funeral. "Without missing a beat, Dad responded, 'No, but I
hear he's a real mean son of a gun.' "
Henry Robinson Howitt, the only son of Henry Howitt, a
Guelph lawyer, and his wife Winifred (née Robinson), was
descended on his father's side from a pioneer family, who
were among the early British settlers in southern Ontario in
the 1830s. Born in Toronto in 1915, but raised in Guelph,
Henry attended local schools, graduating from Guelph
Collegiate in the Depression and then heading to Trinity
College at the University of Toronto.
After graduating with his bachelor's degree in 1937, he
enrolled in Osgoode Hall Law School, intending to follow in
his father's legal footprints. The Second World War
intervened as Mr. Howitt entered his final year of law
school in September, 1939. In addition to his regular
classes he enlisted in the Canadian Officer Training Corps,
eventually gained the rank of Lieutenant, and dreamt of
being mobilized.
Much to his disappointment, he was not called up in the
early waves of troops shipped overseas. Instead, he
graduated with his law degree in 1940, duly earned his call
to the bar and began working as a lawyer in Toronto.
Early in 1941, he was accepted into the Royal Canadian
Armoured Corps with the rank of Sergeant-Cadet and sent for
training first in Brockville and then Borden, Ont. It was
not until late in 1942 that he was finally sent overseas
with the Sherbrooke Fusiliers and posted to Aldershot,
England, for yet more training.
Frustrated and rebellious, he was released by the Fusiliers
and spent a brief stint with the Governor General's Foot
Guards before finding a place with the British Columbia
Regiment of the 28th Canadian Armoured Regiment. Passed over
for the D-Day landings in Normandy in June, 1944, the
Regiment was sent to France late in July and fought in the
bloody battle for Hill 140, the first (and failed) attempt
to encircle and capture the German forces by closing what
was known as the The Falaise Gap.
The Regiment withstood very heavy casualties and Lieutenant
Howitt was sent as part of a replacement force in September
and put in command of a troop of four Sherman tanks. He
bravely led this troop until the end of the war, helping to
push the Germans out of France north through Belgium and the
Netherlands and back into Germany.
In November, 1945, he was awarded the Military Cross. The
citation commends him for serving with "distinction"
throughout "some of the fiercest fighting of the campaign"
in Northwest Europe.
"At Bergen op Zoom, Holland, on 29 October 1944, Lieutenant
Howitt commanded the first tank to cross the canal at the
northern part of the city and the fire which he was able to
bring upon the enemy caused the enemy casualties in great
number and also assisted the infantry in holding the
position which was counter-attacked on three occasions.
During this operation he handled his troop with great
tactical skill and his deployment of his troop during the
counter-attacks did much to establish the bridgehead firmly
in our hands. During the winter months of 1944-45 this
officer, on many occasions, acted as Forward Observation
Officer of shoots conducted by his squadron in support of
raids across the Maas River made by our infantry. His utter
disregard for his own safety in finding positions from which
to observe while wholly exposed to enemy fire won him the
admiration of all associated with him.
"On 6 March 1945 in an outflanking move on the town of Veen,
Germany, Lieutenant Howitt was in command of a force
consisting of two tanks and a section of infantry. He was
ordered to seize a cross-roads. Although exposed to heavy
shelling and high velocity fire, Lieutenant Howitt led his
force to the objective and inflicted severe casualties on
the enemy. On reaching the objective he was able to inflict
further casualties by skillful application of the artillery
fire working in his support. Direct hits were made on enemy
self-propelled guns and infantry, bringing about such
confusion that a force on the left flank was able to gain
their objective with few casualties.
"From 8 April 1945 to 25 April 1945 Lieutenant Howitt acted
as Rear Link Officer during a period of heavy fighting
leading up to and including the Kusten Canal bridgehead. Due
to the fact that the troops were dispersed in areas far
distant from the squadron headquarters it was necessary for
Lieutenant Howitt to carry out normal administrative work in
a very hazardous country. These areas were constantly under
sniper, small arms and mortar fire but, despite danger and
physical hardship brought about by lack of sleep for days on
end, Lieutenant Howitt always maintained an adequate supply
of ammunition, petrol and food to the forward elements.
During all this time his never-failing courage was a source
of constant inspiration to those serving with him and the
ingenuity he displayed in getting supplies forward under
adverse conditions had much to do with the successful
outcome of the operation."
Lt. Howitt shipped home from England in February, 1946, and
returned to Vancouver where he was honourably discharged.
After making his way back to Ontario, he worked first for
the Ontario Securities Commission and then moved back to
Guelph, where he opened a law practice with lawyer Ken Blair
on the same street as Howitt and Howitt, the law offices of
his father and uncle. That's how he came to meet Patricia
(Pat) Duthie, who was working as a legal stenographer for
Howitt and Howitt. They married on Oct. 7, 1950, and
eventually had four children.
After a little more than a decade working as a lawyer, Mr.
Hewitt was named a provincial magistrate, as lower court
judges were then known, in 1957. Because there was already a
sitting magistrate in Guelph, Mr. Howitt travelled around
the province filling in for other magistrates, until the
mid-1960s when the Guelph position became vacant and he was
given the local appointment. At the same time, the
nomenclature changed and magistrates in the provincial
court, criminal division, became known as judges.
Mr. Howitt retired from the bench in 1985, at age 70, and
then sat on small claims court until he turned 75.
HENRY HOWITT
Henry Howitt was born in Toronto on June 6, 1915. He died of
pneumonia at The Elliott Community in Guelph on Feb. 26,
2009. Mr. Howitt, who was 93, is survived by his wife Pat,
four children, grandchildren and extended family.