Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...

Sir Miles Garth Hunt-Davis, (7 November 1938 – 23 May 2018) was a

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 Gurkha ...

officer who was also the

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...

to The Duke of Edinburgh from 1993 until 2010.

Early life and education

Miles Hunt-Davis was born in Johannesburg,

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tr ...

, in 1938 and educated at St Andrew's College.

Military career

After attending the

Mons Officer Cadet School Mons Officer Cadet School was a British military training establishment for officer cadets in Aldershot from 1942 to 1972, when it was closed and all officer training concentrated at Sandhurst. Until 1960, it was known as the Mons Officer Cade ...

, Hunt-Davis was commissioned a probationary second lieutenant in the Queen's Brigade of the Territorial Army on 5 August 1960, and relinquished his commission on 16 November 1961. He joined the

6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles The 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence. Originally raised in 1817 as part of the army of the British East India Compa ...

as a second lieutenant (direct-entry) holding a short-service commission on 14 April 1962. On 16 October 1963, he was granted a regular commission in the same regiment with the rank of second lieutenant (seniority 14 April 1962). He served in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and e ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

1964–1966, and was promoted to lieutenant on 14 April 1965. Promoted captain on 14 April 1968, from 1969 to 1970 he attended the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College, and was promoted to major on 31 December 1971. From 1974 to 1976 he was

Brigade Major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section dire ...

of the 48th Gurkha Infantry Brigade. Promoted lieutenant colonel on 30 June 1976, he commanded

7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles The 7th Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army, following India's independence in 1947 and after 1959 designated as the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles. History ...

from 25 September. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1977. In 1979–1980 he was the Chief Instructor, Tactics Wing, of the

School of Infantry A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces. Schools of infantry include: Australia *Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW. France ...

, and 1980–1982 General Staff Officer Grade 1 (GSO1) Tactics at the School. From 1982 to 1983 he was instructor at the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, whic ...

(psc), and was promoted to colonel on 30 June 1984. In 1985–1987 he was Commander British Gurkhas,

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. Promoted to brigadier on 31 December 1987 (seniority 30 June), from 1987 to 1990, based in Hong Kong, he commanded the

Brigade of Gurkhas The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective name which refers to all the units in the British Army that are composed of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers. The brigade draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army ...

. Advanced to

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1990, he retired on 1 August 1991.

Personal life

Hunt-Davies was married to Anita (née Ridsdale) and together they had three children: Joanna Mary, Justin, and Francis Benedict (Ben) who won a gold medal in the men's eight at the 2000 Sydney Olympic games. He has nine grandchildren. During his time as Private Secretary to Prince Philip, Hunt-Davis lived in a house in the grounds of

Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official L ...

and then a flat in Kensington Palace. After his retirement they lived in Wiltshire.

Private Secretary

After leaving the British Army Hunt-Davis was

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

of the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Gurkha Rifles (1991-1994), and Chairman of the Gurkha Brigade Association (1991–2003). Hunt-Davis joined the Household of the Duke of Edinburgh as Assistant Private Secretary in 1991. He was promoted to Private Secretary in 1993, and appointed a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

in 1998. He was knighted as a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

in 2003 and, on his retirement in 2010, was advanced to

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt-Davis, Miles 1938 births 2018 deaths Alumni of St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Equerries Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order South African knights People from Johannesburg Royal Gurkha Rifles officers South African emigrants to the United Kingdom Graduates of the Mons Officer Cadet School British Army brigadiers South African military personnel