Major General David Noel Hugh Tyacke CB

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(18 November 1915 – 10 February 2010) was a senior

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. His last post was as

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

the Singapore District. He had previously been the last commanding officer of 1st Battalion,

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a Light infantry, light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd ( ...

(DCLI) prior to its amalgamation into the

Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry The Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry (SCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in October 1959 by the merger of the Somerset Light Infantry and the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, and was itself merged with ...

Early life

Tyacke was born and raised in

Breage Breage or Breaca (with many variant spellings) is a saint venerated in Cornwall and South West England. According to her late hagiography, she was an Irish nun of the 5th or 6th century who founded a church in Cornwall. The village and civil par ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, where his family had been involved in

tin mining Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm (parts per million), compared to iron with 50,000 ppm. History Tin extraction and use ca ...

since the early years of the 18th century. His father, Captain Charles Noel Walker Tyacke, served in the DCLI during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, fighting at

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

and

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

, before being killed near the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

with the 5th Battalion in 1918. Tyacke's mother, Phoebe Mary Cicely Tyacke (née Coulthard), was then living at the vicarage in Breage. Tyacke was educated at

Malvern College Malvern College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging coeducational boarding school, boarding and day school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school ...

(1929–33) and the

Sandhurst Military College The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town o ...

. He joined 2nd Battalion the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1935, joining the 1st Battalion of his regiment in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 1936.

Second World War

At the start of the

Second World War 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 ...

he was on leave in Britain, and joined the 2nd Battalion in France. Following a fighting retreat to

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, Tyacke led a small group to escape via the

Bray-Dunes Bray-Dunes (; ) is a Commune of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is situated on the Belgian border, with Adinkerke being the closest Belgium, Belgian town. Bray-Dunes i ...

. The regiment reformed after Dunkirk at

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo (South Somerset), River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish include ...

, where Tyacke married Diana in June 1940. After a period defending

Selsey Bill Selsey Bill is a headland into the English Channel on the south coast of England in the county of West Sussex. The southernmost town in Sussex is Selsey which is at the end of the Manhood Peninsula and ''Selsey Bill'' is situated on the town's ...

during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

, and then at Southampton under Montgomery, in 1943 Major Tyacke was posted to

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

to serve under

Orde Wingate Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Orde Charles Wingate, (26 February 1903 – 24 March 1944) was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindits, Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory duri ...

. Tyacke was attached to the

Chindit The Chindits, officially known as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. ...

staff for Operation Thursday, and was the last staff officer at Chindit HQ to see Wingate alive on 24 March 1944. After this, the Chindits were under the command of the US General

Joseph Stilwell Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (19 March 1883 – 12 October 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India theater during World War II. Stilwell was appointed as Chief of Staff for Chiang Kai-shek, the Chine ...

and Tyacke remained on the staff at Shaduzup in Burma until relieved by the 36th British Division.

Post war

Tyacke worked for a time at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, and then was Second in Command of the DCLI in the West Indies. In 1957 he was promoted to command the regiment (by now back home in

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...

), and took part in the celebrations of the centenary of the Defence of Lucknow, in which the DCLI's predecessor regiment, the 32nd Foot, had played a leading role. Tyacke was promoted to major general in 1966, and appointed General Officer Commanding the

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

District – covering an area stretching from

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Retirement

Tyacke left the Army in 1970, but continued to work as the Controller of the

Army Benevolent Fund The Army Benevolent Fund, formerly ABF The Soldiers' Charity, is the national charity of the British Army. Since 1944, it has provided a lifetime of support to soldiers, veterans and their immediate families when they are in need. In the finan ...

. He was Colonel of

The Light Infantry The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. The regiment was one of four 'large' regiments formed after the 1966 Defence White Paper through the amalgamation of units of the Light Infantry Bri ...

from 1972 to 1977, and a member of the council of his old school, Malvern College, from 1978 to 1988. He died on 10 February 2010 at

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, where he had been living. His wife had predeceased him, and he was survived by their only son. Major General Tyacke was buried at Breage. His funeral was attended by about 120 people, including DCLI veterans and the

Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. Since 1742, all the Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Cornwall. Lord Lieutenants * John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford 1552–1554 * John Bourchier, 2nd ...

Lady Mary Holborow Lady Mary Christina Holborow (née Stopford; 19 September 1936 – 9 June 2017) was a British magistrate who was Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. She was a daughter of the 8th Earl of Courtown. On retirement as a magistrate ( justice of the peace ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyacke, David 1915 births 2010 deaths People from Breage, Cornwall People educated at Malvern College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War II British Army major generals Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel from Cornwall Burials in Cornwall