Forces Charities

Murdered Ex-British Army Engineer Hero Honoured By Landmine-Sniffing Rat

Christopher Howes Former Soldier And Deminer Murdered In Cambodia 1996 Credit MAG (Mines Advisory Group)

A landmine-sniffing rat named in honour of a hero mine clearing expert is continuing his legacy of saving lives - 25 years after the former British Army engineer's murder.

The family of the late former Royal Engineer Christopher Howes, who worked with global landmine clearance charity The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in the 1990s, have given their support to a project using rats to clear mines - especially as one of the rats that helps to detect the mines is named after the late soldier to honour the life-saving work he did.

His family said he was passionate about this work before he was kidnapped and shot to death by Khmer Rouge guerillas in 1996 - two years before the final defeat of the brutal regime following Cambodia's bloody civil war.

Christopher's sister Pat Phillips was thrilled to see her brother's legacy honoured in this way. She said:

“The void left in our lives by my brother's needless murder is undiminished. He had so much more to give.
“But to see his name and his life-saving work continue is a fitting tribute to a loyal, brave and exceptional man."

Landmine specialist Christopher, who served with 33 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, for seven years before working for MAG, up until he fell victim to the brutal Khmer Rouge - a communist dissident force built up over the latter years of the 1960s in the jungles of Cambodia.

The British Army veteran from Nailsea, Somerset, was part of a 30-strong MAG team working in Cambodia to save lives by clearing landmines that had been buried underground to indiscriminately kill anyone who walked over them.

On March 26, 1996, the team were kidnapped while clearing mines from the countryside close to the Cambodian temple complex Angkor Wat.

Christopher's sister Pat, speaking of her brother's dedicated work, said:

“He always assured us he was careful at his job and wouldn't be hurt, but murder was another thing."

Houen Hourth Interpreter Murdered Cambodia 1996 Credit MAG (Mines Advisory Group) — Chris' interpreter Houen Hourth was also murdered by Khmer Rouge guerillas

Christopher and his interpreter Houen Hourth successfully negotiated the release of the rest of the team, offering to stay with their captors themselves to secure their colleagues' freedom.

For this act of bravery, Christopher was posthumously awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal in 2001.

However, the fates of the two remaining captive mine-clearing experts, known as deminers, were sealed as Khmer Rouge's leader, Pol Pot, had decided Christopher and Houen should be killed because they were part of a team of foreigners helping the Cambodian government.

The men were both murdered days later by Khmer Rouge guerillas. Christopher was 36 years old and Houen was still a teenager at 19.

Alexey Kruk, MAG's Cambodia country director, speaking about the men’s death, said:

"Chris and Houen were killed while carrying out their life-saving work freeing communities from the fear of landmines.

“They were selfless and brave - we remember them as heroes."

HeroRAT Howes African giant pouched rat And Handler Credit MAG (Mines Advisory Group) — Meet HeroRAT Howes, named after British Army veteran and deminer Chris Howes

MAG has worked with people like Christopher in Cambodia since 1992 to clear 314,000 landmines, improvised mines and unexploded bombs. This vital work has made almost 112 square kilometres of land safe for the women, men and children affected by decades of conflict.

It is down to the dedication of deminers like Chris and landmine detection 'HeroRATs' like the newly named Howes, that MAG has found and destroyed more than 314,000 landmines and unexploded bombs and cleared almost 112 square kilometres of safe land back to communities in Cambodia.

HeroRAT Howes African giant pouched rat in harness and lead while searching for landmines Credit MAG (Mines Advisory Group)

Howes the rat was trained by APOPO, a Belgian charity that made the headlines last year when it's now retired landmine-sniffing rat Magawa won a PDSA Gold Medal bravery award.

As APOPO’s Co-Founder and CEO Christophe Cox explained, African giant pouched rats like Howes are perfectly suited to sniffing out landmines, saying:

"HeroRATs like Howes significantly speed up landmine detection using their amazing sense of smell and excellent memory.

“Unlike metal detectors, the rats ignore scrap metal and only sniff out explosives making them fast and efficient landmine detectors.

“Fate has brought Howes back to Chris’ team to continue the good work he began.

“Only with strong partnerships like these can we hope to keep the promise to declare as many countries as possible landmine free by 2025."

HeroRAT Howes African giant pouched rat eats a banana as a treat for good behaviour Credit MAG (Mines Advisory Group) — HeroRAT Howes enjoys a treat of some banana

It was HeroRAT Magawa who inspired Christopher’s old school friends Mark and Cheryl Appleby to support APOPO when they saw the charity’s work in action, while in Cambodia paying tribute to their friend.

While there, Cheryl and Mark persuaded APOPO to name their latest HeroRAT Howes to honour Christopher's legacy. APOPO has worked in Cambodia in partnership with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) since 2014 and has found and destroyed 17,718 landmines and unexploded bombs and released almost 23 square kilometres of safe land back to communities. MAG and APOPO have been working in collaboration in Cambodia since 2020.