Cosmo Haskard

Sir Cosmo Dugal Patrick Thomas Haskard KCMG MBE (25 November 1916 – 21 February 2017) was an Irish-born British colonial administrator and British Army officer.[2] As Governor of the Falkland Islands from 1964 to 1970, he played a key role in defeating plans by Harold Wilson's Labour government to cede the sovereignty of the islands to Argentina. He turned 100 in November 2016[3] and died on 21 February 2017.[4]

Sir Cosmo Haskard
KCMG MBE
Governor of the Falkland Islands
In office
1964–1970
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded byEdwin Porter Arrowsmith
Succeeded byErnest Gordon Lewis
Personal details
Born
Cosmo Dugal Patrick Thomas Haskard

(1916-11-25)25 November 1916
Dublin, Ireland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Died21 February 2017(2017-02-21) (aged 100)
Tragariff, Bantry Bay, County Cork, Ireland
SpousePhillada Stanley
Residence(s)Tragariff, Bantry Bay, County Cork, Ireland[1]
Military career
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1938–1966
RankMajor
UnitRoyal Irish Fusiliers
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Life and career

Born in Dublin, he was the son of Brigadier-General John McDougal and Alicia "Lily" Haskard.[5] He was educated at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He passed second out of Sandhurst but failed the medical examination to enter the Army. Instead, he read modern languages at Pembroke College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he served in the university's Officer Training Corps, attaining the rank of cadet company sergeant major; he was commissioned a second lieutenant for service with the infantry unit of the Cambridge OTC contingent on 1 October 1938.[6]

Haskard was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal Irish Fusiliers on 1 November 1939,[7] attaining the rank of captain (war-substantive) by the end of the Second World War. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, Military Division (MBE) in September 1945.[8]

Haskard was promoted to the substantive rank of captain on 1 January 1949, with the honorary rank of major.[9] He relinquished his reserve commission on 25 November 1966, retaining the honorary rank of major.[10]

Haskard served as Governor of the Falkland Islands from 1964 to 1970.[11] As governor, he was instrumental in defeating a move by Harold Wilson's government to cede sovereignty of the islands to Argentina.

He was appointed KCMG in the 1965 New Year Honours.

References
  1. "It's Downton . . . Irish-style". Independent.ie. 5 May 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  2. The Daily Telegraph Issue no 50, 317 dated Wednesday 1 March 2017 p27 "Sir Cosmo Haskard Colonial administrator appointed Governor of the Falklands as Britain was winding up its empire"
  3. "Birthdays". The Independent. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  4. "Death Notice Of SIR COSMO HASKARD, Bantry, Cork, Ireland". Rip.ie. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  5. "Voices from the Great Houses - Cork and Derry" (PDF). Mercierpress.ie. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  6. "No. 34567". The London Gazette. 4 November 1938. p. 6892.
  7. "No. 34741". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 November 1939. p. 7952.
  8. "No. 37262". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 September 1945. p. 4556.
  9. "No. 38927". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1950. p. 2723.
  10. "No. 44181". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 November 1966. p. 12822.
  11. Colonial Office, Great Britain (2 April 2007). The Colonial Office List. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
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