Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Early Life

Stanford Howard was born on 8th July 1898, near Ballarat, Victoria. He was the son of Rev Henry Howard and Sarah Jane (Jean) Reynolds. His brothers were Norman (1886), Arthur Ewing (1891) and Egbert Percy (1893) and his sister Winifred Jane (1895). The family moved to Kent Terrace, Kent Town, Adelaide, in 1903 when the Rev Henry Howard took on his ministry from the Pirie Street, Methodist Church.

Schooling

Stanford attended the Sturt Street School then Adelaide High School where in 1912 he passed his Primary Examinations and won a scholarship to attend Prince Alfred’s College (PAC). Stanford passed his Junior Examinations in 1912, followed by his Senior Examinations in 1913 and his Higher Public Examinations in 1915 and 1916. While at PAC, Stanford won numerous prizes and scholarships, he participated in the intercollegiate sports and was Captain of the PAC team in 1916; he rose to be Captain of both the PAC football and cricket teams and vice-captain of the tennis team. In addition to sporting achievements, Stanford was Captain of the School, a successful Cadet, secretary of the Christian Union, and manager of the Chronicle (PAC Magazine).

World War I

Stanford enlisted on 26th January 1917 in Melbourne, Victoria. Some of his service records show the Service Number 1493 however the main number used was SN 1511. When he enlisted he was described as 6’2’, 163 lb, with a medium complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. After attending A.F.C. Camp at Laverton, Stanford embarked from Melbourne on board the HMAT A9 Shropshire on 11th May 1917 and disembarked in Plymouth, England on 19th July 1919. On the journey to England the convoy had an encounter with a U-boat, which Stanford described in a letter to his father. (see document).

Stanford was a depot wireless operator at Wendover, England before commencing pilot training. On the 10th May 1918 Stanford was appointed a Flying Officer, 2nd Lieutenant (pilot) in the A.F.C. and was posted to France. On 10 August 1918 Stanford was promoted to Lieutenant with the 4th Squadron. Ten days later, while engaged in a flying mission, Stanford received gunshot wound in left leg. His Achilles tendon was almost divided and had to be repaired. While in hospital Stanford also had an operation to remove his tonsils. Stanford’s leg injury had been described as severe; however his Red Cross record (above) shows that by the 20th September 1918, Stanford was up and playing tennis.

Sadly for Stanford, his mother passed away in July 1918. However on a happier note, Stanford was in London in December 1918 and met with his brother Arthur E Howard. Arthur had been a student at Oxford in 1914. He was on holidays in Germany at the outbreak of WWI and was an interned prisoner in the Ruhleben Camp, ten kilometres west of Berlin, for the duration of the war.

In 1919, Stanford was appointed official interpreter of German to the Cologne representatives of the Armistice Commission. Stanford returned to Australia on 6 May 1919 onboard the ‘Kaiser-I- Hind’ and his appointment was terminated on the 14th July 1919.

Adelaide University and Sport

On his return to Adelaide, Stanford commenced studying at Adelaide University and gained a Division I pass in Biology in December 1919. In October 1919 Stanford was awarded the 1919 Rhodes Scholarship.

Stanford was a member of the 1919 Adelaide University Intervarsity Football team (2nd ruck) and may have played for the University in Adelaide Football Association games. A fine all-round cricketer at PAC, he resumed his cricketing career and was named in the Adelaide University A Grade Team for the first match in the 1919/20 Season. He was only able to play until the end of December.

Life in the United Kingdom

Stanford was given a farewell lunch by the PAC Old Collegiate Association and in late May 1920 he departed Adelaide on the Melbourne Express en route to England. According to shipping records, he departed from Sydney, Australia on 3 June 1920 aboard the ss Makura arriving in the port of Vancouver, BC, Canada on 29 June 1920, then in Washington State, USA on 3 July 1920 where he arrived by C.P.R train, he was headed for London, England.
Stanford studied at Christ Church, Oxford

During his time at Oxford, Stanford visited Munich on vacation and encountered a German officer who had been injured during Stanford’s single handed raid on the Armentieres railway station. Stanford graduated, Bachelor of Arts, in October 1922, in the same ceremony his brother Arthur was awarded his Master of Arts. Rev Henry Howard was in Oxford to witness the ceremony.

On completion of his Arts Degree, Stanford commenced studying for his medical degree in England and was listed in the 1923 Medical and Dental Students Register. He was visited by his father and sister in August 1923. In September 1923, Stanford became engaged to Miss Thelma Lee, daughter of Dr. & Mrs Robert Lee of Harley Street, formerly of Melbourne.

Stanford was awarded his BM BCH (Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae, the equivalent of the Australian MB SC) from Oxford in 1925.
Stanford and Thelma were married in the Hinde Street Wesleyan Church, Manchester Square on 24 March 1926. The ceremony was conducted by Stanford’s brother, Rev Arthur Howard.

In 1928 Stanford became a MRCS (Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, postgraduate diploma for surgeons) and a LRCP (Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians), followed by a FRCS (Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon) in 1929.

By 1931 Stanford had a medical practice in London and his father had moved to New York, where he was minister at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. In October 1932 Stanford and Thelma travelled to New York departed from Southampton, England, on 8 October 1932 aboard the Berengaria and arriving in New York on 14 October 1932. While in New York the couple attended the wedding of Stanford’s sister, Winifred. Winifred’s father, Rev Henry Howard, officiated and Stanford Howard gave the bride away. Stanford and Thelma returned to Liverpool, England on 20 November 1932, having departed from New York, aboard the Scythia.

In 1927, 1928, and 1929 Stanford was listed in the London Telephone Book as “Howard Dr. Stanford, 77 Clifton Ct N.W.8”; and in 1930, as "Howard Stanford, F.R.C.S., Denby, Gordon Av”. From 1931-1934 Stanford had Professional Rooms listed as "Howard Stanford, F.R.C.S., 43 Queen Anne St W1”. During the period 1931-1946, Stanford and Thelma were living at Denby, Gordon Av, Stanmore".
On the 28th June 1933 the Rev Henry Howard arrived in London with his daughter, Winifred, two days later he passed away at a London nursing home aged 74 years. His funeral was held at Stanmore, the home of his son Stanford Howard.

In 1935 Stanford was described as an ardent cricket enthusiast. He was attached to the London Hospital and honorary surgeon to the Battersea General Hospital. Stanford had devised a new transfusion needle and was known for his writing on empyema (usually caused by an infection which spreads from the lungs).

From 1936-1938, Stanford’s professional Offices were listed in the Telephone Books as “Howard Stanford, F.R.C.S., 8 Harley St W1, Langham" and from 1938-1959 he was at 49 Wimpole St W1. In 1942 Stanford was one of the chief medical executives in London and a distinguished surgeon. In 1946 Stanford successfully operated on fellow South Australian Jim Edwards, using a comparitavely new technique in appendix operations.

In 1942, Stanford had an article published in the Post-Graduate Medical Journal entitled “Rare Appearance of Clonorchis Sinensis in England” (Chinese Liver Fluke - a parasite) . He also had many articles published in the Lancet.

1947 edition of Who’s Who In Australia summarised Stanford’s achievements and interests (see document).

In 1948 Stanford’s was organising the PAC Old Collegiate Association Dinner at the Savoy, London for the nominal last day of the fifth cricket test. Stanford organised the annual dinner from 1946 to at least 1953.

In 1949 and 1950, there are telephone listings for "Howard Stanford, F.R.C.S., Dalbrack Gordon av Stanmore, Grimsdyk 380”.

Between 1951 and 1969, the Telephone Books listing is “Howard Stanford, FRCS, Conslt Surg, Stoneclough, Scott Park, Burnley 23338” (Lancashire).In 1961 to 1967 period Stanford’s also had Professional Rooms listed in the Telephone Books as “Howard Stanford, FRCS, 148 Harley St W1, Welback 1207”.

Death

Stanford died in early 1969, aged 70. The registration district for his death was Burnley, Lancashire. He left his wife, Thelma and a son and a daughter.

Obituary

Royal College of Surgeons (England)
http://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/biogs/E005798b.htm

Authors: Beth Filmer & AUFC/AUCC Memorial Committee

For the complete profile including photographs, newspaper articles, documents and sources prepared for the AUFC/AUCC WWI Memorial Project please see the document attached.