Sir David Dawnay was a fine tennis player, cricketer and polo player. He played cricket during his time at the Sandhurst Military College and later captained his regimental team. At tennis he won the Army Regimental Doubles title in India in 1930 and the Open doubles title at Meerut, India in 1932. He was also a leading polo player in between the two World Wars with a handicap of 7-goals, and was twice a member of the winning team in the Inter-Regimental Polo Tournament, once at Hurlingham and once in Egypt. In June 1936 he was the spare man in England’s third match against the United States for the Westchester Cup and six weeks later captained Great Britain to the final of the polo tournament at the Berlin Olympics but an 11-0 defeat meant a silver medal for Dawnay and his team-mates.
David Dawnay was educated at Eton and then at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. He served in the Army in World War II with the North Irish Horse and was on active service in North Africa and Italy in the last two years of the war which saw him honoured with the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) in 1943, and with Bar in 1945. Dawnay was also the commanding officer of the 21st Tank Brigade and served with the 10th Hussars, the 2nd Armoured Brigade and the 8th Armoured Brigade. He was the Commandant at Sandhurst between 1951 and 1954, was then commander of the 56th Armoured Division, and in 1962 was appointed the Colonel of the 10th Royal Hussars. In addition to his D.S.O he was invested as a Companion, Order of the Bath (C.B.) in 1952 and later was made a Knight Commander, Royal Victorian Order (K.C.V.O.) . Between 1957 and 1969 Dawnay was Clerk of the Course at Ascot race course and in the same period was also the joint Master of the Waterford Hounds. He was married to Katharine Nora de la Poer Beresford, the daughter of the 6th Marquis of Waterford, and his son Major Hugh Dawnay was a much respected polo coach and like his father, was also the joint Master of the Waterford Hounds,
Great Britain