David Fraser

General Sir David William Fraser, (30 December 1920 – 15 July 2012) was a senior British Army officer who served as Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies from 1978 until his retirement from military service in 1980. He was also a prolific author, publishing over 20 books mostly focused on the history of the Second World War.

Early life Fraser was born on 30 December 1920. He was the son of Brigadier William Fraser, the younger son of the 19th Lord Saltoun, and Pamela Maude, widow of Billy Congreve a Victoria Cross recipient and daughter of actors Cyril Maude and Winifred Emery. He was educated at Eton College. He left school to join the British Army but was refused. Instead, in January 1940, he matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford. He was streamlined during training before taking an intensive four-month course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. His first posting was as a troop commander in the 2nd Battalion, 5th Guards Armoured Brigade, part of the Guards Armoured Division.

On 27 February 1946, Fraser's promotion to lieutenant was confirmed with seniority from 30 June 1943. He served as a company commander in the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards in the Malayan Emergency of 1948. He was involved in the Suez Crisis in 1956 and the Cyprus Emergency in 1958. On 6 June 1960, he was promoted to that rank.

Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1962, Fraser was posted to the Ministry of Defence as Director of Defence Policy (Army) from December 1966 until 1969. He went on to be UK Military Representative to NATO in 1975, and Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1978 before retiring in 1980. He had been advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath just prior to his retirement.

Later life Fraser was president of the Society for Army Historical Research from 1980 to 1993.

Personal life In 1947 he married Anne Balfour-Fraser but they divorced in 1952; they had one daughter (Antonia Isabella Fraser). In 1957 he married Julia Frances Oldridge de la Hey; they had two sons (Alexander James Fraser and Simon William Fraser) and two daughters (Lucy Caroline Fraser and Arabella Katherine Fraser).

Books He was the author of the following books: Knight's Cross: A Life of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel Frederick the Great: King of Prussia And We Shall Shock Them: British Army in the Second World War Alanbrooke The Grenadier Guards (Men at Arms Series, 73) Fairest Isle: BBC Radio 3 Book of British Music The Fortunes of War The Christian Watt Papers Wales in History: The Defenders, 1066–1485 Bk. 2 Codename Mercury (Hardrow Chronicles) Around the House Wars and Shadows : Memoirs of General Sir David Fraser A Candle for Judas (Treason in Arms) Dragon's Teeth (Treason in Arms) The Pain of Winning (Hardrow Chronicles) Imperatives for Defence (Policy challenge), 1990 Adam Hardrow (Hardrow Chronicles) Adam in the Breach (Hardrow Chronicles) The Killing Times (Treason in Arms) The Seizure (Treason in Arms) Wellington and the Waterloo Campaign (Wellington Lectures), March 1996 August 1988 To War with Whitaker: Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939–45, (Reed Audio) with Hermione, Countess of Ranfurly, and Imogen Stubbs (Audio Cassette, 1995) Kiss for the Enemy (Thorndike Large Print Popular Series)