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 (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Sir Miles Garth Hunt-Davis, (7 November 1938 – 23 May 2018) 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 who was also the Private Secretary 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 (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

, 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. The training course at Mons was for National Servic ...

, 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 () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

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 direct ...

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 F ...

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 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 ...

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. Franc ...

, 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, which ...

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

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

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

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

. 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 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 ...

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 situated within Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has served as a residence for the British royal family since the 17th century and is currently the ...

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 (armed forces), 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 colon ...

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 () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

in 1998. He was knighted as a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

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

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

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 Military personnel from Johannesburg Royal Gurkha Rifles officers South African emigrants to the United Kingdom Graduates of the Mons Officer Cadet School British Army brigadiers 20th-century British Army personnel