Commander Howard Straw died peacefully in a residential care home on 26th March 2020. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and a lack of mobility due to problems with his knees. He was a beloved husband to Lilian, father and grandfather and will be much missed by all who knew him. A small private funeral was held on 17th April.
The following was contributed by Captain John De Winton RN who was the Chief of Staff in SON/RNO in the 80s.
I recruited him in about ’86 or so. He had been my PWO(G) in Leander in ’74/75 (he was very good) and then went to Bandar Abbas to join the RN training team with the Iranian Navy there. (I had taken Terry Lewin (CinC Fleet) to Bandar Abbas in late ’74). Howard came to Oman as a 2 ½ and was very much involved in the sea training role which he was very good at as he had a good rapport with the Omani’s. He became a Cdr in SON and stayed on until 2001. He was a good golfer and I played with him occasionally and he was an early resident in MQ’s at Wudam.