British Army General. A respected infantry officer, he shall probably be remembered for his tenure as General Officer Commanding (GOC) in Northern Ireland during a particularly difficult phase of The Troubles. Educated at Regent's Park School, he joined the Army after graduation and was commissioned second lieutenant in the King's Rifle Corps, commonly called 'Green Jackets', on August 23, 1941. During the Italian Campaign of 1944 he was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for bravery then after the conflict held a series of staff and field assignments of increasing responsibility. Named Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1964, he commanded the 1st. Battalion Green Jackets in Penang thru 1964 and 1965. Commanding the 51st. Gurkha Brigade in Borneo during the Indonesian Difficulties of 1965 to 1967 he was promoted to Brigadier General on December 31, 1966. Subsequently holding a number of positions in Germany including Deputy Chief of Staff, he was advanced to Major General on January 9, 1971, then in 1975 was Knighted KCB for his services in Germany and named GOC, essentially Military Governor, of Northern Ireland with a concurrent promotion to Lieutenant General. During his time in Belfast, Sir David strove to bring the strife under control and to reduce casualties and was able to achieve a measure of success by treating the IRA as criminal gangs rather than as political rebels. He was to see his Knighthood upgraded to Grand Cross (GCB) for his work in bringing at least some peace to Northern Ireland prior to his December 30, 1977, retirement then from 1978 thru 1985 served as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, commonly styled simply "Black Rod", a ceremonial position within the House of Lords. Sir David lived out his days in North Yorkshire and died of the effects of advanced age.