: ''See Charles David Liddell and

David Liddell-Grainger David Ian Liddell-Grainger (26 January 193012 March 2007) of Ayton Castle, in Berwickshire, was a prominent freemason who served as Grand Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland from 1969 until 1974. In 1955 he was created an Officer of ...

for similarly named individuals.''

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

David Liddell, MC (9 January 1917 in

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers w ...

, China – 20 March 2008) was a Scottish soldier, insurance broker and farmer. A

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

commander awarded an immediate MC for his outstanding service in Italy while serving with the 12th Battalion Cameronians (

Scottish Rifles The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Regim ...

). On 23 December 1943, he commanded the reinforcements to the Essex 5th Battalion Regiment, which was sent to capture the Italian village of Villa Grande, near

Termoli Termoli ( Molisano: ''Térmëlë'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) on the south Adriatic coast of Italy, in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. It has a population of around 32,000, having expanded quickly after World War II, and it is a ...

, which was being held by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

1st Parachute Division. While training he was called to assist with the capture of

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician, Nuremberg trials, convicted war criminal and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer ( ...

who had landed nearby.

Family

His wife was Joan Russell, who represented England at squash. She predeceased him, dying in 2004. Liddell was survived by two sons and a daughter.''The Times Online'' obituary, ibid.
/ref> His brother was Ian Oswald Liddell VC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liddell, David 1917 births 2008 deaths People educated at Harrow School British Army personnel of World War II Scottish farmers Cameronians officers 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Place of birth missing Place of death missing Recipients of the Military Cross British expatriates in China