Geoffrey Howe was dean of three dental schools – at the Royal Dental Hospital of London School of Dental Surgery (RDH), in Hong Kong and latterly in Jordan. He was born on 24 April 1924 in the London borough of Haringey, the eldest of three brothers. His father, Leo Leslie John Howe, died when Geoffrey was only 10 years old, having spent a number of spells in sanatoria for the treatment of TB, probably caught when serving in the trenches in the First World War. His mother was Ada Blanche Howe née Partridge. Geoffrey went to a number of schools, partly due to wartime emergencies, finishing at Newquay County Boys’ School. Whilst there he joined the Local Defence Volunteers (later to become the Home Guard). He gained a scholarship to enter the Royal Dental Hospital of London School of Dental Surgery for a joint dental and medical course, however, just after joining, he was told by the dean that whilst RDH was staying in London, because of the war, he would have to transfer to Guy’s Hospital if he wanted to continue with medicine. He chose to stay, so continued with the dental course only. His school exams had been mathematics-based, so before starting dentistry proper he attended a crammer to pass exams in physics, chemistry and biology. Conditions were very difficult, with buildings affected by bombing and many staff away. He was especially grateful to be taught by two oral surgeons who treated casualties under the Emergency Medical Service: Desmond Greer Walker and Ben Fickling. With other students, he served at the first aid centre at Charing Cross Hospital and in the Home Guard. It was at RDH that he met Heather Hambly, a Red Cross nurse. Geoffrey was a bright student and gained a number of prizes. Completing his studies before the age of 21, he was too young to take his final examinations; instead he worked as a student house officer at Stoke Mandeville Hospital with Desmond Greer Walker, a pioneer in war injuries care. Geoffrey qualified LDSRCS in 1946 and became a house surgeon in children’s dentistry and orthodontics under Clifford Ballard; he then became a senior house officer. In December, after proposing to Heather, Lieutenant Howe joined the Royal Army Dental Corps (RADC) to begin a long association with the military. On 8 April 1947 they married at St Paul’s Church, Haringey, prior to him being sent overseas. Following his demobilisation in 1949, he tried general dental practice but was unhappy. With Heather’s support and advice from Ballard, he took up part-time training programmes in orthodontics and oral surgery, working with Ballard, John Hovell and John Hooper. Becoming convinced of the need for medicine, he gained a place in October 1949 at the Middlesex Hospital Medical College, which had strong links with the Royal. He was an excellent student and gained the Begley prize for basic medical sciences from the Royal College of Surgeons of England in March 1951. A few weeks later he passed the primary FDSRCS exam. He wanted to maintain contact with the Army so he joined the Territorial Army as an RADC officer at the17th (London) General Hospital RAMC (TA), based at the Duke of York’s Headquarters in Chelsea. In October 1951 he became a part-time clinical assistant in the dental department at the Middlesex. It brought in an income as well as experience whilst continuing with his medical studies, qualifying MRCS LRCP in 1954. He was then appointed as a house physician to D Evan Bedford and Walter Somerville in cardiology. Next came ENT with C P Wilson (a head and neck surgeon with a special interest in cancer), J P Monkhouse and Sir Douglas Ranger. 1955 saw him gain his FDSRCS, then joining Sir William Kelsey Fry and Frank Wilkinson (the dean) as a registrar in the department of oral surgery at the Eastman Dental Hospital. He was later promoted to senior registrar. To gain more experience he was later encouraged to apply for a senior registrar post at the Welsh regional plastic and oral surgery unit at Chepstow Hospital, to work with oral surgical consultant John Gibson. There was much outreach work. In 1959, aged only 35, Geoffrey became the first professor of oral surgery in Newcastle (Durham University). In 1961 the Royal College of Surgeons of England awarded him its Cartwright prize for research into surgical aids to prosthetics. Six years later, Geoffrey returned to London as the first professor of oral surgery at RDH and an honorary consultant at St Thomas’. Within five years he was the dean. By 1976 Geoffrey was asked to help Hong Kong plan a new school as chairman of the university’s dental academic advisory committee. It was built and equipped but they couldn’t find a suitable Chinese academic to become dean of the Prince Philip Dental School. They invited Geoffrey and he became dean in l978, holding that post until 1983. C E (Ted) Renson from the London Hospital was appointed as professor of conservative dentistry. The building was officially opened in March 1981 by the Duke of Edinburgh, then centenary president of the British Dental Association. In general Geoffrey was very successful, but there was an unpleasant period. The background, covered in his autobiography *Reflections of a fortunate fellow* (County Durham, Memoir Club, 2002), revolved around the purchase of equipment. Initially the supplier performed well, but in time problems arose. Geoffrey said he didn’t know at the time there was dissension between its directors, two couples. Eventually things came to a head and one couple had to give up their directorships and income from the Hong Kong dental project. Hong Kong had perhaps the world’s most draconian anti-corruption laws. In an attempt to bankrupt the company, the couple reported to the feared Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) that the school’s equipment had been obtained by corrupt means. As Geoffrey describes in his book: ‘They were friendly with Ted Renson who had long been jealous of my success and lusted after my job as Dean and Director and he started making telephone calls to me demanding that I resign in his favour or he would expose what Heather and I had been up to.’ Geoffrey said he had no idea what was being inferred. In fact, Renson did renounce him to the ICAC and to the press and he was investigated for corruption. As a result, two ICAC officers asked him to accompany them to their headquarters. Heather was interviewed in a separate room. The investigation lasted 18 months, after which he was cleared. But mud sticks. To maintain a mandate, he decided to resign and stand for re-election as dean, but he did not succeed. However, he was contacted by Douglas Allen, an ex-Newcastle colleague, who was establishing a school in Jordan. He asked Geoffrey to deliver an oral medicine course. The University of Science and Technology’s dental school opened in February 1987, with Geoffrey as professor of oral surgery and oral medicine. He was dean from 1988 to 1996. He was thus dean at three dental schools on three continents. Geoffrey examined for Newcastle, Belfast, Dublin, Baghdad, Singapore, Malta, Melbourne and London universities. He published several books and numerous articles and gained many awards from abroad. He was very involved with committee work. Geoffrey was a fellow of the British Association of Oral Surgeons and of the British Dental Association’s central committee for hospital dental services (chair from 1971 to 1973). He chaired the British Dental Association's council, its top committee, for five years. Geoffrey was president of the European Economic Community’s dental liaison committee and of the International Association of Oral Surgeons. He was to be president of the British Dental Association but that slipped when he left for Hong Kong. Whilst working at the Eastman, the London Zoo’s veterinary officer told him they had a spider monkey with a severe facial deformity and didn’t know how to treat it. Geoffrey went to their aid. At that time few vets knew about diseases of the teeth and mouths of animals. As a result, for over a decade Geoffrey undertook much voluntary oral surgery for the Zoo’s animals, including for an elephant. Geoffrey was very sociable. He belonged to the Savage, Gents and Travellers clubs in the UK and Hong Kong’s United Services Recreation Club. He thoroughly enjoyed sea sailing, including at the Royal HK Yacht Club, reading, ballet, opera and walking. He played football for the RDH. After retirement, he enjoyed drinks and a meal at a local public house, where he was well known and liked. He always sat in his favourite seat, over which the proprietor had placed a painting of Geoffrey’s old house. Much time was devoted to the Territorial Army. He was a RADC officer with the Territorial Army General Hospitals, consultant dental surgeon to the RADC and the first RADC officer to command a general hospital. He was also the first honorary colonel commandant of the RADC. Geoffrey was awarded the Territorial Decoration (1962) and bars (in 1969 and 1974); and the T&AVR medal (1975). Geoffrey had married Heather in 1947. Their son, Timothy John, died just before Heather in 1997. In 2003 Geoffrey married Mrs Margaret Samuel (née Hall), but she died in 2010. Geoffrey Howe died on 17 July 2014 at the age of 90, and was survived by his younger brothers John and Alan (also a dentist), as well as his stepson Peter.