James Alfred Davidson

Commander James Alfred Davidson (22 March 1922 – 8 May 2004) was a British naval commander and diplomat. After serving during the Second World War, he joined the Commonwealth Relations Office where he held several posts in Cambodia, Brunei, Bangladesh and the British Virgin Islands. He was an honorary member of the Royal Numismatic Society.

Early life James Alfred Davidson was born in Portsmouth, England on 22 March 1922, and was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School and Christ's Hospital, then at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. His first posting, as a midshipman, was to , but in 1942 he was transferred to the destroyer . In 1943 he was appointed first lieutenant of the frigate . A year later, in February 1944, at the age of just 21, Davidson took temporary command of the ship. He was appointed OBE in 1971. After the India-Pakistan war, he became deputy high commissioner in East Pakistan, which was soon to become Bangladesh. In this position, Davidson took part in negotiations on Indira Gandhi's visit to Bangladesh in March 1972. He continued to take up several other positions including as a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics he decided to do a pupillage at the Admiralty Bar. He was a member of the inquiry into the sinking of the MS European Gateway. He worked as a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics' Centre for International Studies (1982-1984) and as Chairman of the Pensions Appeals Tribunals (1984-1995). He died on 8 May 2004, at the age of 82. His widow (Daphne), four children (Duncan, Gavin, Caroline, and Emma), and a slew of grandkids survive him. He has also earned the following honours;