General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Sir David William Fraser, (30 December 1920 – 15 July 2012) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who served as Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies from 1978 until his retirement from military service in 1980. He was also a prolific author, publishing over 20 books mostly focused on the history of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Early life

Fraser was born on 30 December 1920. He was the son of Brigadier William Fraser, the younger son of the 19th

Lord Saltoun Lord Saltoun, of Abernethy, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1445 for Sir Lawrence Abernethy. The title remained in the Abernethy family until the death in 1669 of his descendant the tenth Lady Saltoun. She was succeeded ...

, and Pamela Maude, widow of Billy Congreve a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

recipient and daughter of actors

Cyril Maude Cyril Francis Maude (24 April 1862 — 20 February 1951) was an English actor-manager. Biography Maude was born in London and educated at Wixenford and Charterhouse School. In 1881, he was sent to Adelaide, South Australia, on the clipper ship ...

and Winifred Emery. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

.Debrett's People of Today 1994 He left school to join the

but was refused. Instead, in January 1940, he

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

at Christ Church, Oxford.

Military career

While studying at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, Fraser joined the Home Defence Force. In October 1940, he was training at the Guards' Depot in

Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...

, Surrey. He was streamlined during training before taking an intensive four-month course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

as a second lieutenant on 4 April 1941. He was given the

service number A service number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they may be used in civilian organizations as well. National identification numbers may ...

184424. His first posting was as a troop commander in the 2nd Battalion,

5th Guards Armoured Brigade The 5th Guards Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army, a component unit of the Guards Armoured Division, that served in the Second World War in North-west Europe from June 1944 until May 1945. History This brigade was con ...

, part of the

Guards Armoured Division The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadier ...

. In the last two years of the

, he was involved in the

North West Europe Campaign The North West Europe campaign was a campaign by the Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth armed forces in North West Europe, including its skies and adjoining waters during World War II. The term Western Front (WWII), Western Front has als ...

. He finished the war as a

war substantive Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

. On 27 February 1946, Fraser's promotion to lieutenant was confirmed with seniority from 30 June 1943. On 30 December 1947, he was promoted to captain. He served as a

company commander A company commander is the commanding officer of a company, a military unit which typically consists of 100 to 250 soldiers, often organized into three or four smaller units called platoons. The exact organization of a company varies by countr ...

in the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards in the Malayan Emergency of 1948. Having attended

Staff College Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For e ...

, he was promoted to major on 30 December 1954. He was involved in the Suez Crisis in 1956 and the

Cyprus Emergency The Cyprus Emergency ( gr, Απελευθερωτικός Αγώνας της Κύπρου 1955–59), also known as the Greek Cypriot War of Independence or Cypriot War of Independence, was a conflict fought in British Cyprus between November 1 ...

in 1958. He was made a brevet

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

on 1 July 1959. On 6 June 1960, he was promoted to that rank. Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1962, Fraser was posted to the Ministry of Defence as Director of Defence Policy (Army) from December 1966 until 1969. He was appointed General Officer Commanding 4th Division in 1969, and Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Policy) in 1971. He was Vice Chief of the General Staff from April 1973, and was knighted as a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

later that year. He went on to be UK Military Representative to NATO in 1975, and Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1978 before retiring in 1980. He had been advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath just prior to his retirement.

Later life

Fraser was president of the

Society for Army Historical Research The Society for Army Historical Research is a learned society, founded in 1921 to foster "interest in the history and traditions of British and Commonwealth armies, and to encourage research in these fields." It is one of the oldest societies of its ...

from 1980 to 1993.

Personal life

In 1947 he married Anne Balfour-Fraser but they divorced in 1952; they had one daughter (Antonia Isabella Fraser). In 1957 he married Julia Frances Oldridge de la Hey; they had two sons (Alexander James Fraser and Simon William Fraser) and two daughters (Lucy Caroline Fraser and Arabella Katherine Fraser).

Books

He was the author of the following books: * ''Knight's Cross: A Life of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel'' * ''Frederick the Great: King of Prussia'' * ''And We Shall Shock Them: British Army in the Second World War'' * ''Alanbrooke'' * ''The Grenadier Guards'' (Men at Arms Series, 73) * ''Fairest Isle: BBC Radio 3 Book of British Music'' * ''The Fortunes of War'' * ''The Christian Watt Papers'' * ''Wales in History: The Defenders, 1066–1485'' Bk. 2 * ''Codename Mercury'' (Hardrow Chronicles) * ''Around the House'' * ''Wars and Shadows : Memoirs of General Sir David Fraser'' * ''A Candle for Judas'' (Treason in Arms) * ''Dragon's Teeth'' (Treason in Arms) * ''The Pain of Winning'' (Hardrow Chronicles) * ''Imperatives for Defence'' (Policy challenge), 1990 * ''Adam Hardrow'' (Hardrow Chronicles) * ''Adam in the Breach'' (Hardrow Chronicles) * ''The Killing Times'' (Treason in Arms) * ''The Seizure'' (Treason in Arms) * ''Wellington and the Waterloo Campaign'' (Wellington Lectures), March 1996 * ''August 1988'' * '' To War with Whitaker: Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939–45'', (Reed Audio) with Hermione, Countess of Ranfurly, and

Imogen Stubbs Imogen Stubbs (born 20 February 1961) is an English actress and writer. Her first leading part was in '' Privileged'' (1982), followed by '' A Summer Story'' (1988). Her first play, '' We Happy Few'', was produced in 2004. In 2008 she joined ...

(Audio Cassette, 1995) * ''Kiss for the Enemy'' (Thorndike Large Print Popular Series)

References

External links

Find a Grave
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, David 1920 births 2012 deaths Military personnel from Surrey Burials in Hampshire Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army generals British Army personnel of World War II British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency British military writers British military personnel of the Suez Crisis Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Grenadier Guards officers Historians of World War II Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Eton College British expatriates in Cyprus British Home Guard soldiers