Walter Cowan

Admiral Sir Walter Henry Cowan, 1st Baronet, (11 June 1871 – 14 February 1956), known as Tich Cowan, was a Royal Navy officer who saw service in both the First and Second World Wars; in the latter he was one of the oldest British servicemen on active duty. Early life Cowan was born in Crickhowell, in Brecknockshire, Wales, on 11 June 1871, the eldest son of Walter Frederick James Cowan, an officer in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. After his father's retirement from the British Army, the family settled in Alveston, Warwickshire, where his father became a justice of the peace. Cowan never went to school, but entered the Royal Navy in 1884 at the training ship, HMS Britannia, a classmate to fellow future admiral David Beatty. Early service career In 1886, as midshipmen, Cowan and Beatty joined , flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. Cowan saw service in Benin and Nigeria in 1887. He fell sick and was invalided home after less than a year, but later rejoined Alexandra, returning with her to Britain in 1889. He then joined in the Training Squadron and was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in 1890. He was appointed to , flagship of the East India Station. In 1892 he was promoted lieutenant and became first lieutenant of the gunboat . However, in 1893 he was invalided home with dysentery.