Sir Neville Howse was born in England on 26 October 1863 and, after medical studies, emigrated to Australia in 1889. In 1899 he bought Dr Van Someren’s medical practice in Orange, New South Wales. In 1900 Howse volunteered to serve in the Boer War in South Africa as Surgeon-Lieutenant to the New South Wales Lancers. On 24 July that year, during heavy fighting at Vredefort, Howse saw a trumpeter fall wounded in the foremost line. Leaping on his horse he galloped out through extremely heavy fire to the young man’s side. Howse’s horse was shot and killed but he treated the injured man’s wounds and carried him out of the action while bullets flew all around. For his valour, Howse was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for acts of bravery in wartime. After his service in the Boer War, Howse rose to high command in the Australian Army Medical Corps in World War I and to senior Cabinet office in the federal parliaments of the 1920s.

An eminent citizen of Orange, New South Wales, Howse was one of the first in the city to volunteer for service in World War I, even though he was 50 years old and the current mayor. In addition to being awarded the Victoria Cross in 1901, Howse was showered with honours. In January 1917 he was promoted to Major-General and appointed KCB (Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath) and in 1919 he was appointed KCMG (Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George) and Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. Howse married Evelyn Pilcher, the daughter of George de Vial Pilcher of Orange in 1905. They had five children. Sir Neville died on 19 September 1930 while in England with his family. The memorial to Sir Neville Howse in Robertson Park, Orange, was erected in 2000 to mark the centenary of the First Victoria Cross by a member of the Australian Defence Forces.