Eric O'Gowan was born in County Cavan and was educated in England. He joined the British army and was commissioned. He fought in both world wars. In 1942 he was dismissed as Deputy Chief of the General Staff, British Middle East Command, though a footnote on a report by Sir Winston Churchill states that O'Gowan 'only became Deputy Chief of Staff on 16th June, 1942' and could not have been responsible for the fall of Tobruk. The Chief Herald, in 1949, authorised him as being the representative of the ancient sept of the O'Gowans of Ballygowan, County Down.

Born:	1895
Died:	1969