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Denis Owen Owenc Married Kathleen (Kaye) Hammondc | ||||||||
| Christopher (Kit) Charles Lynwood Owen Owen [CFT #3131] Born: 1941 Died: 2007-Jul-6 |
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| b Bulawayo, Rhodesia d Swindon, Wiltshire Obituary from the Salisbury Journal, 7th July 2007 FORMER Salisbury Cathedral chapter clerk Brigadier Christopher Kit' Owen died in hospital in Swindon last Friday. He was 66. Brig Owen was chapter clerk from 1991 until retiring on his 65th birthday in April last year. Born in Bulawayo, (then Southern Rhodesia and now Zimbabwe) in 1941, he was educated at the Christian Brothers College. He matriculated in 1958 and joined a local firm of solicitors. However, due to the internal unrest in Southern Rhodesia at this time he was called up for national service, subsequently spending more time in uniform than studying law. He quickly realised that he preferred the military life to a legal one and applied for, and was selected by the then federal government to attend the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK. Commissioned in 1963, he joined the Rhodesian African Rifles where he held a number of battalion junior officer posts, until he was appointed aide-de-camp to the Governor of Rhodesia, Sir Humphrey Gibbs, in May 1965. In November that year the Rhodesian government unilaterally declared independence. Kit resigned his commission, and spent almost four years under virtual house arrest at Government House. In February 1969, he was summarily ejected from the country and put on a flight to the UK, where he was subsequently commissioned into the Royal Green Jackets. During the next 20 years Kit served in a variety of countries, including Germany, France, the USA, Cyprus, Rhodesia, and Northern Ireland. He commanded a battalion in Northern Ireland for two years, before being posted to the USA as the senior British liaison officer to the US Army's Training and Doctrine Command. Immediately following this, he took a year's sabbatical and obtained a masters degree in science (business management) at RMCS, a Cranfield Institute of Technology establishment. Staff appointments included a three-year period advising on the planning and allocation of the Army budget and long-term costings. In his final appointment (1988-1991) he was Director of Defence Concepts, in charge of a tri-service team, responsible for forecasting the size, shape and equipment needs of the three services over a 25-year period. During this time, the first Gulf War was fought, and he headed a group of senior military officers and civil servants which reviewed strategic and tactical options on a daily basis, and had direct briefing access to the Chiefs of Staff Committee. Kit was awarded the LVO and OBE, and received a mention in despatches for services in Northern Ireland. He took early retirement in the rank of brigadier in 1991 and joined Salisbury Cathedral as chapter clerk. Kit was married to Lucia and they have two sons, George and Harry. They retired to live near Marlborough and in May this year celebrated the birth of their first grandchild, Florence. Kit enjoyed writing and had articles published in a variety of journals ranging from Private Eye, to which he was a regular contributor in 1969, to the Times. When diagnosed with cancer, only months ago, he set about putting things in order, with his usual thoroughness and concern for his family, of whom he was immensely proud, Paying tribute this week, the Dean of Salisbury, the Very Reverend June Osborne said: "Kit made a huge contribution to the life of the cathedral during his 15 years as chapter clerk. He brought with him a professional approach to the management of our business affairs. "A man of great sincerity and principle and a committed Christian, he championed the establishment of our links with Riga Cathedral as the Latvian Lutheran Church took back control of their building from the state. "He was certainly a colourful character, whom we will remember with gratitude and affection." Brig Owen's funeral (a requiem mass) will take place at Salisbury Cathedral on Tuesday, July 10, at 11.30am. |
1: 1979 Harry Victor Owen Owenc W 2: 1981 George Christopher Owen Owenc W/C | |||||||
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