Author: Peter Bloomfield

Orders of the day, Volume 36, Issue 6, 2004

David Chandler DLitt. FRHS 1934-2004

With the death of David Chandler the Sealed Knot has lost one of its most distinguished and long-serving members, and the nation a military historian of the first rank, whose writings on Napoleon and Marlborough earned him international acclaim.

David’s contributions to the success of our Society date from its formative days in 1968. As a colleague of Peter Young in his department of military history at Sandhurst, David was recruited into the SK by our Captain General and threw himself into its development with typical enthusiasm and vigour. He took part in the early parades and was present at the first great Muster, Edgehill, in October 1968. He was the Society’s first Adjutant General. There is a splendid picture of David in the Daily Telegraph colour supplement that featured the re-enactment of First Newbury in 1969, accompanied by the cheerful comment: "The essence of the Cavalier spirit can be detected in the attitude of this Royalist officer, with bright plumage, dashing hat and proud gauntlets, he has nothing but scorn for the crop-eared rapscallions in their sober hats on Round Hill"! In fact, of course, David was a peaceful man holding to the SK principle that there be no antagonism between Royalist and Parliamentarian in our Society. He was proud to belong to the corps of Yeomen of the Knot, drawn from senior members of both persuasions, and always made a special effort to attend the annual parade and service at Ripple Church.

In 1972 it was recorded in Orders of the Daye that "Our best congratulations are due to Lt. Generall David Chandler and the Corps of Master-at-Armes whose untiring efforts have done much to improve the performance of the Sealed Knot". In the years following David continued to make a major contribution to the development of the SK, most notably in the planning and execution of the Sedgemoor musters of 1975 and 1985. He spent two and a half years working on the first, the 290th anniversary re-enactment, supplying the red coats for King James’s army and masterminding the displays. David was also a natural commentator, informative and able to hold an audience with his wit and expertise, including a commentary in French at the 30 Years War muster in Gravelines in 1987.

As military historian David was a prolific writer, his reputation established by his Campaigns of Napoleon, even earning the plaudits of General de Gaulle! He went on to produce over 20 more books. These included Marlborough as a Military Commander (1973), Waterloo: The Hundred Days (1984), Napoleon’s Marshals (1987) and Blenheim Preparation (2004). The obituaries in The Times (18 October) and The Daily Telegraph (9 November 2004) show something of the extent of David’s influence as a gifted teacher, writer and broadcaster.

Cruelly, David suffered a severe stroke in 1994, shortly after his retirement as Head of War Studies at Sandhurst. Characteristically, he fought back with the support of his wife, Gill, and his family. Helped by them and the Stroke Association, he regained his speech and basic skills. He continued to be generous of his time to help others and those of you fortunate enough to have received letters from David would find they invariably included one of his caricatures of himself as Napoleon – he was Honorary President of the Napoleonic Association.

Always ready to perpetuate the memory of Peter Young, in whose former home he now lived, David hosted a special gathering in 1998 to remember our Captain Generall. In that 30th Anniversary year of our Society he planned and executed a special ceremony, the climax of which was the unveiling of a special plaque to ‘PY’.

David Chandler was a true gentleman. He died on 10th October 2004, the day of the annual Ripple Muster.

Peter E. Bloomfield
Col. Gen. SK
Captain of Yeomen