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Major Lord Brassey of Apethorpe OBE JP DL
Late Grenadier Guards
by Major P A J Wright OBE
formerly Grenadier Guards
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 David Brassey, 3rd Baron, who has died aged 82, was born on 16th September 1932. He was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Lord Brassey MC TD, 2nd Baron Brassey of Apethorpe. He was educated at Stowe where he excelled on the athletics track. His Housemaster wrote ‘There are few people whom I would rather have with me in a physical crisis, provided he understood what the crisis was about’.
He was commissioned from Eaton Hall Officer Cadet School into the Grenadier Guards in September 1951 and posted to 3rd Battalion in Egypt before transferring to 1st Battalion in 1953. He qualified on the 120mm anti tank gun course. Later another officer introduced himself as ‘Richardson, 3rd Tanks,’ to which David replied ‘Brassey, Anti Tanks’. A Jaguar owner, motoring enthusiast and regular supporter of the Monte Carlo Rally, he was appointed the Battalion’s Motor Transport Officer in 1955. He was on the Staff of HQ London District from 1959-61, Second in Command of the Junior Guardsmen’s Company at Pirbright in 1962 and then Company Commander with 2nd Battalion in BAOR, Caterham, British Guiana and Windsor.
During 2nd Battalion’s tour in British Guiana from June 1963 until March 1964, David commanded Headquarter Company throughout considerable racial strife between Africans and Indians. In January 1965, he commanded a Grenadier detachment from the Battalion in the State Funeral of Sir Winston Churchill. Later that year, he flew to Libya on a desert training exercise. In all his command appointments David showed dash and imagination, being more at home in the field than in the office.
He succeeded to the title in 1967 and retired from the Army as a Major the following year. His activities in retirement were characterised by his pursuit of perfection coupled with a strong sense of public duty. In 1970 he was appointed Justice of the Peace and became Chairman of the Corby Magistrates and a prison visitor at Gartree Prison, where he was popular with both the staff and inmates. He ensured that their requests and requirements were carefully considered and was much respected for his compassion and ability to always remain fair in his dealings with others. He was appointed OBE in 1994. He was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Northamptonshire in 1972 and Vice Lord Lieutenant in 2000.
He loved fishing and shooting and was a keen gardener and ornithologist. He bred a wide variety of ducks at Apethorpe and was a trustee of the Slimbridge Wetlands Centre for Birds. Its founder, Sir Peter Scott, was astonished to find that David could not only identify almost all resident British birds, but also their equivalent Latin names. David was a clear and independent thinker with an idiosyncratic sense of humour which concealed a loyal and generous spirit. The large attendance at his thanksgiving service adjacent to the lake at Apethorpe included many former Grenadiers and reflected the widespread affection he was held in. He is buried in his favourite wood nearby which he maintained so beautifully.
His love of the countryside and everything in it was second only to his love and devotion to his family and friends. He married first in 1958, Myrna Baskerville-Glegg. She predeceased him in 1974 and he married secondly Caroline (Midgie) Evill in 1978. She survives him with their two daughters, Zara and Chloe, and the son of his first marriage, Edward, who served as a captain in the Regiment and succeeds to the barony.
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