Edgar Francois Howell
Edgar Francois Howell | |
|---|---|
 Marshal Howell in 1971 giving a speech upon the completion of the first Four Year Plan | |
| Chairman of the Vionna-Frankenlischian Socialist Party | |
| In office 7th November 1967 – June 14th 1980 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edgar Francis Joseph Howell September 18, 1925 Frankenlisch, Kingdom of Frankenlisch |
| Died | June 14, 1980 (aged 54) Lawrenceville, Kingdom of Vionna |
| Cause of death | Killed in Action |
| Resting place | Lawrenceville War Grave |
| Citizenship | Vionna-Frankenlischian |
| Nationality | Frankenlischian |
| Political party | Socialist Party*(1966 - 1980) |
| Other political affiliations | Labour Party (1940 - 1966) |
| Spouse | Yaroslava Praskovya Borisov (died 1991) |
| Children | Sergey Howell (DOW) Sofiya Howell |
| Parents |
|
| Education | Degree in Mechanics |
| Alma mater | St Yaroslav's University, Drakstavich |
| Nickname | "Big Boris" |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Molvanian Red Army Vionnan Red Army |
| Years of service | March 29th 1946 - November 1st 1950 (Molvani) May 21st 1967 - June 14th 1980 (Vionna-Frankenlisch) |
| Rank | Senior Lieutenant (Molvani) Marshal of the Socialist Armies (Vionna-Frankenlisch) |
| Commands | Vionnan Red Army |
| Battles/wars | War in Jalkolta
Imperial Civil War |
| Awards | Order of the Molvanian People, Second Class |
Edgar Francois Joseph Howell was a Vionna-Frankenlischian politician and leader of the People's Republic of Vionna-Frankenlisch from 1967 to his death in 1980. He was born in 1925 in Frankenlisch to Joseph Howell, a businessman and Member of Parliament for Durolipons and his wife Betha Howell. Howell was drawn towards left wing politics at an early age as he visited Molvani when he was eleven and later studied there at St Yaroslav's University. From here he pursued a career in politics, associating himself with the Vionna-Frankenlischian Labour Party and became involved with the Socialist underground in Frankenlisch. His contacts within both the Labour Party and Left wing underground groups managed to keep him from being conscripted in the Second Europan War. Nonetheless, when his father died in 1945, Edgar emigrated to Molvani where he joined the Red Army in 1946, training as an Officer Cadet and being comissioned as a Junior Lieutenant. He fought during the War in Jalkolta and left the Molvanian Army in late 1950 as a Senior Lieutenant with mutiple medals.
He returned to Vionna-Frankenlisch in 1956 with his Molvanian wife, Yaroslava, who was pregnant with their first child. Sergey Howell was born in Frankenlisch in 1957 and was followed three years later by a girl named Sofiya. Emboldened by his success in Molvani as an army officer, Edgar returned to his Socialist contacts who took to calling him "Big Boris" for his stature and Molvanian citizenship and service. He gained much following in Vionna-Frankenlisch, both from the Socialist underground and the Vionna-Frankenlischian press which ran many articles about him. Famously, the Frankenklischian tabloid, The Solis, ran a headline entitled "The Red Bear of Governor Street", referencing Howell's childhood home. In 1965, the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) began investigating Howell in connection to a group of small-scale terrorist attacks across Cunaris by Socialist groups he was associated with. He was not connected to them, and in fact adhered personally to a strict code of chivalry throughout the rest of his life, possibly due to crimes committed by the Red Army in the Jalkolta War. Nonetheless, along with other left-wing activists and some high-rolling Labour Party politicians, notably Nigel Standhope who stood as Prime Minister of a minority Labour government from 1960 to 1962, Howell continued to plan for an uprising against the monarchy.
Early Life
Born Edgar Francis Joseph Howell in Curie Street Hospital to Joseph and Betha Howell on the 18th of September, 1925. Edgar had a comfortable upbringing. Joseph Howell was a successful industrialist and town councillor and from 1934 Member of Parliament for Durolipons and Edgar lived on his estate and received private tutoring until 1935. He was noted as a very bright individual from an early age and despite being considered physically obese until he was ten, was gifted at sports and was an accomplished athlete by the time he turned 15. In 1936 he entered St Ewic's School for Boys and remained there until 1940. During his time at St Ewic's he was a member of the cadets and, despite a certain lack of personal discipline, proved himself a remarkable soldier at such a young age.
In 1940 Edgar left for St Yaroslav's University in the Molvanian town of Drakstavich where, in 1943, he received his degree in Mechanics. St Yaroslav's was one of the final universities in Molvani to remain functioning during the Second Europan War and had to be hastily evacuated as Germanan troops approached the town. Howell was taken by the Trans-Molvanian Express to North Vladamirska where he remained while recovering from pneumonia. He was returned to Vionna-Frankenlisch in January 1944 and he quickly associated himself with the Labour Party and gained contacts in the Socialist underground in Vladamirska. His political contacts saved him from the draft when he turned eighteen and he returned to Durolipons in late 1944 when his father fell ill. Joseph Howell died in March 1945 and Edgar emigrated to Molvani.
Political Beginings
Edgar Howell quickly ingratiated himself into the Socialist underground in Vionna-Frankenlisch on the advice of his doctor while in Molvanian care. Doctor Dmitri Grigov's introductions made Howell an intriguing and instantly respected figure amongst the Vladamirska Socialists and word quickly spread to other groups of the new arrival. In February 1944, Howell joined the Labour Party, which was led at the time by Clarence Adlington who was popular and socially leftist but seen by many socialists as far too right-wing, economically. Importantly, Adlington had no clear opinions on the nationalisation of private industry, something which irritated the socialists and made them suspicious of him. Howell's new contacts in both the Labour Party and the underground socialist movements allowed him to dodge conscription when he became eighteen in September 1944.
Military Service
Upon arriving in Molvani, Edgar found, relatively quickly, that it was not the socialist paradise he had imagined. However, unlike many, this did not dash his hopes for the ideology and, perhaps correctly, he put the nation's strifes down to the recent conflict. As he had arrived in Molvani in the harvesting season, Edgar quickly found work on a collective farm, helping to bring in the harvest and this helped him keep afloat for the first few months of being in the country. However, as winter came around he quickly found himself short of work and starving, he fell deathly ill and only survived thanks to aid packages from his Vionnan socialist contacts.
In March 1946, out of work, homeless and starving, Edgar enlisted in the Molvanian Red Army. Originally joining as an enlisted rifleman, Edgar was quickly singled out as he spoke the language well, despite his nationality, and due to his university education was rejected as a lower-ranked soldier and sent to an officer's school near Volkhovgrad. He performed well, although not remarkably so and was taken into the Red Army as a Junior Lieutenant. In 1947 he was promoted to full Lieutenant and in August of that year he was deployed for the War in Jalkolta.
Commanding a platoon of the 7th Guards Rifle Division, Howell was reportedly excited to be going off to fight and, though he opposed war, was seemingly content to be spreading socialism through the invasion of Jalkolta. His division was first posted to the reserves of Operation Moskvin but, following heavy casualties at the Jahovnik Landings, it was rotated into the front line. Howell's platoon, as part of the 118th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, was part of the spearhead of Operation Bogdonor. Howell saw action at the Battle of Karlotti and the Battle of Medinland, he proved a proficient soldier and officer and the men under his command took statistically fewer casualties than any other platoon of the 118th and accomplished almost every objective it was issued. In January 1948 he recieved the Order of the Molvanian People, Second Class for his leadership in action and in March he was promoted to Senior Lieutenant.
Following heavy Molvanian casualties at the Battle of Hakbank, Howell's regiment suffered from a lack of qualified officers and he was raised to commanding a motorised company. Howell took to his new position well and, with his knowledge of mechanics, quickly proved well suited to the task. He was wounded during the latter stages of the Battle of Javokota and returned to Molvani until December 1949. He took part in the final push for the Jalkoltan capital city, Jalkoltic and left the army following the end of the war in April 1950.
The War in Jalkolta proved a very important influence on Howell. He was unlucky enough to witness some of the worst atrocities of the conflict such as the Mabaki Massacre and the crimes commited by the Moskvin Division, a division of dangerous criminals pressed into service, following the capture of Javokota. Despite recieving a hero's welcome back in Molvani, Howell and the other regular soldiers of the Red Army that fought in Jalkolta were treated poorly by Molvanian civilians, mainly due to the crimes committed by troops of the Red Army during the conflict. Due to poor reporting of news from the frontline in the Molvanian homeland, many people believed that the regular units of the Red Army were guilty of these crimes, unaware that most were the actions of units such as the Moskvin Division. (This is not to say that regular Red Army units were innocent of wrongdoing, many regular Molvanian soldiers were complicit in the crimes but they were not institutionally responsible, these were the actions of individual soldiers and should not be considered representative of the entire Red Army. Many Red Army commanders attempted to stick to a loose code of chivalry as they had seen the brutal fighting of the Second Europan War)