Sir David Clive Crosbie Trench (; 2 June 1915 – 4 December 1988) was 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 ...

officer and colonial governor who served as the

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the United Kingdom, British The Crown, Crown in British Hong Kong, Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, Executiv ...

from April 15, 1964 to October 19, 1971 and was

High Commissioner for the Western Pacific The high commissioner for the Western Pacific was the chief executive officer of the British Western Pacific Territories, a United Kingdom, British British Empire, colonial entity, which existed from 1877 until 1976. Numerous colonial possessions ...

Early life

Trench was educated at

Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

, Kent and graduated from

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

with the degree of

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(M.A.).

War service

In 1938, Trench entered the Colonial Service as a cadet in the

British Solomon Islands The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first established in June 1893, when Captain Herbert Gibson of declared the southern Solomon Islands a British protectorate.''Commonwealth and Colonial Law'' by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, S ...

Protectorate and was seconded to the Western Pacific High Commission in 1941. He was also commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

( Supplementary Reserve). From 1939 to 1945, he fought in the Second World War and served in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force from 1942 to 1946. For this, Trench was awarded the decoration of the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

and the US Legion of Merit in 1944. That year he was posted to the island of

Malaita Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...

, with the task of repressing the Maasina Rule, an uprising aimed at securing independence for Malaita. In August 1947, he was appointed Secretary for Development and Native Affairs, and his crackdown on the Maasina Rule continued. Trench attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1947 and studied at the Joint Services Command and Staff College in

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, Wiltshire in 1949.

Colonial administration career

Trench served as Governor of the Solomon Islands and

from 1961 to 1964. In 1950, Trench became Assistant Secretary to the Deputy Defence Secretary for Hong Kong. He eventually held the office of Deputy Financial Secretary in 1956 and Commissioner of Labour and Mines in 1957. In 1958, Trench studied at the Imperial Defence College in London. Trench served as Deputy Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong between 1959 and 1960. He left Hong Kong to take up the office of High Commissioner for the

British Western Pacific Territories The British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) was a colonial entity created in 1877 for the administration of a series of Pacific islands in Oceania under a single representative of the British Crown, styled the High Commissioner for the Weste ...

between 1961 and 1964, but returned to Hong Kong as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Hong Kong between 1964 and 1971. His governorship in Hong Kong inherited from his predecessor an increasingly prosperous city, along with numerous social issues that came with it: water shortages, refugees from mainland China, and an alarming rise in corruption. After major riots in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, his administration belatedly introduced some social reforms, including the establishment of City District Offices in 1968 as links between the government and the public; the legislation of an eight-hour work day, six-day work week in 1971; and the introduction of a six-year compulsory primary school education, also in 1971.

Personal life

Trench married Margaret Gould on 18 August 1944. The couple had one daughter, Katherine Elizabeth (1956–2017). Trench was also a distant kinsman of the Barons Ashtown, and one of his distant relatives, Nigel Clive Cosby Trench, also worked in the Foreign Service and succeeded to the Barony of Ashtown in 1990. Trench died on 4 December 1988, aged 73.

Offices and honours

* C.M.G., 1960 * K.C.M.G., 1962 * K.St.J., 1964 *Honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree from the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

, 1968 * G.C.M.G., 1969 *Governor of Hong Kong, 1964 to 1971 *President of St. John Ambulance Brigade and Association in Dorset since 1972. *Chairman, Dorset Area Health Authority from 1973 to 1982 * Deputy Lieutenant of Dorset, 1977 *The Trench

Methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid used medically to treat chronic pain and opioid use disorder. Prescribed for daily use, the medicine relieves cravings and opioid withdrawal sym ...

Clinic and the David Trench Rehabilitation Clinic, both in Hong Kong, are named after him * Ching Cheung Road in Kwai Chung, New Territories, Hong Kong is named in honour of him

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trench, David Colonial Administrative Service officers High commissioners for the Western Pacific 1915 births 1988 deaths Governors of Hong Kong Governors of the Solomon Islands

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...