David Thorne (British Army officer)

Sir David Thorne
Born	13 December 1933 Hertford, Hertfordshire
Died	23 April 2000 Framlingham, Suffolk
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1952–1988
Rank	Major-General
Commands held	1st Bn Royal Anglian Regiment 3rd Infantry Brigade 1st Armoured Division
Battles/wars	Operation Banner
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Commander of the Royal Victorian Order

Major-General Sir David Calthrop Thorne KBE CVO (13 December 1933 – 23 April 2000) was a British Army officer who commanded 1st Armoured Division.

Military career

Educated at St Edward's School, Oxford, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Thorne was commissioned into the Royal Norfolk Regiment in 1952.^[1] He was a keen cricketer and played two first-class matches for the Combined Services cricket team in 1964.^[2] He also played minor counties matches for Norfolk from 1954 to 1962, as did his twin brother, Michael (1955–1958), and uncle, Gordon Thorne (1914–1925).^[3] Thorne was given command of 1st Bn the Royal Anglian Regiment in 1972.^[1] He was appointed Commander of 3rd Infantry Brigade in Northern Ireland in 1977, in which capacity in 1979 he was the first officer to brief Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on the Warrenpoint ambush,^[4] before becoming Vice Quartermaster-General in 1981 and Commander of British Forces in the Falkland Islands in 1982.^[1] He went on to be General Officer Commanding 1st Armoured Division in 1983 and Director of Infantry in 1986, in which role he defeated a proposal for posting officers which he believed would undermine the regimental system.^[5] He retired in 1988.^[1]

In retirement he became Director General of the Royal Commonwealth Society.^[4]

Family

In 1962 he married Suzan Anne Goldsmith; they had one son and two daughters.^[1]

References