Close
David was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, on 6 October 1935.
After completing training at Sandhurst he joined the 3rd Hussars in 1956 because, as he said, he 'liked horses and could ride'. Two years later the regiment amalgamated with the 7th Hussars and became The Queen’s Own Hussars. David's army career took him to several countries before arriving at the Supreme Headquarters of Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Belgium where he got a taste of his subsequent career in public relations. At SHAPE he attended to the 'Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp' who camped around the site of the cruise missiles which had been installed there. David regularly gave lectures presenting the Ministry of Defence point of view.
Despite wildly differing views, he got on very well with the protestors. He also took part in a discussion on the subject at St George's House at Windsor Castle; a forum which had been set up by the Duke of Edinburgh to discuss issues of the day.
David retired from the Army in 1985 and soon after was recruited by The Jockey Club. David was often on television discussing issues such as racehorse doping. In 1964, David married Patricia and a son was born in 1967 and a daughter in 1969.
David and Patricia came to Oldest OLs Day in 2013 where David remarked that there were quite a few clerical collars among the guests! He had spoken of the impression the Chapel had made on him from a very early age.
David died very peacefully with his wife, children and grandchildren close on 6 June 2022. He would have known it was the anniversary of D Day.