Page 66 - The Gazette Autumn 2024

66 The Gazette QARANC Association
OBITUARY
‘Never happier than when in the company of her family’
Helen Howe (nee Howes) was born on 6 April 1954 in Newcastle Upon Tyne and moved to Middlesborough as a child. She was a bright student, earning a place at the local grammar school but was unable to complete her sixth form education when her parents separated and could not afford to keep her at school.
She worked as a payroll clerk at John Collier clothing factory and then joined the Army after she turned 18. She initially requested to join as a driver, but the Recruiting Office noted her GCSE grades and IQ score and guided her towards the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps.
Helen started her nursing course at the Cambridge Military Hospital and on the first day Private H Howes QARANC was sat with Private S Howe RAMC. They became an item and, against all advice, married at the age of 19. They celebrated their Golden Anniversary in December 2023.
Helen qualified as an Army Trained State Registered Nurse in 1975 and gained a reputation for competency and efficiency. Clinical consultants would seek her out to accompany them on their ward rounds, much to the chagrin of more senior commissioned nurses. She was required to leave the Army when Stephen was posted to BMH Berlin, one of the few hospitals where QA other ranks could not serve. It was universally agreed
at the time that the wrong Howe was leaving the Service.
Helen was later employed as a nurse in BMH Berlin and for a time worked in Frimley Park NHS Hospital. She gave birth to sons, Simon and Christopher, of whom
she was immensely proud. This joy
was further expanded when they
married and gave her grandchildren.
She absolutely loved being ‘Nainai’
to William and Pip and Nana to
Connie and was never happier as
when she was in their company.
The whole family came together for her 70th Birthday this year and she was grateful for this ‘special day.’ She had planned a family holiday in France in August to mark the 50th milestone of her marriage, however sadly this was not to be.
As an Army wife Helen ‘followed the drum’ moving home 21 times and in addition to UK postings lived in Berlin, West Germany, Australia,
It was universally agreed at the time that the wrong Howe was leaving the Service
Belgium, and the USA. She supported Stephen throughout his career. As the commanding officer’s wife, she drove through the night to be present when parents were informed that their son/daughter had been killed on operations in Bosnia and did this on two occasions.
As the ‘Brigadiers’ wife in York she would get up early, in the small hours, to ensure the driver had a cooked breakfast before driving her husband south. Helen did not always conform to this role and was one of 1.5 million people who marched through London in protest at the looming Iraq war. History was on her side.
Whilst living in Lichfield Helen became a tour guide at Shugborough Hall, a National Trust Property. She loved this job and even travelled back from Belgium to help on several occasions. The members of the CFOB Rotary club will have got a glimpse of her guiding ability when she led a walking tour of
Ramsgate as part of the club’s traditional New Year’s Walk.
At 50 Helen became the ‘stoker’ on the family tandem and enjoyed cycling holidays in Northumbria, Norfolk, Bavaria and Tuscany. She
was amused at the universal cry that greeted her from strangers of ‘Sie tritt in die pedale,’ ‘non sta
pedalando,’ ‘she’s not peddling.’
At some point in Helen’s early life, she
had been exposed to asbestos which led to the start of mesothelioma. This condition led to shortness of breath and the time from the first presentation of symptoms until her death on 26 July was just 65 days. She understood the prognosis and showed immense bravery without a hint of self-pity. Her only concern was the impact her death would have on others. Stephen couldn’t have been prouder or loved her more for her courage in dealing with this horrible disease. She will be dreadfully missed by all the family.
Helen is also survived by her mother Elizabeth aged 93, Uncle David and her younger brother Alan.