Major David Thorogood who died of cancer on 2nd November aged eighty four will long be remembered as being both a soldier and a countryman, his love of the countryside and field sports originating from a very early age as he was brought up on his parents’ farm in Bedfordshire.

He intended to follow his Father on the farm but when that did not work out he joined the army and in 1954 was commissioned into The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment. He joined 1st Battalion in Goslau in the Hartz Mountains on the very edge of the Iron Curtain and it was here he was first able to indulge his love of horses. The army provided them to patrol the border but they were also used for point to pointing and steeplechasing, pursuits which demand a high degree of personal courage and in which David revelled. Because of his expertise he was sent on a six week equitation course and horses became part of his life.

After three years with the Battalion he was posted to The Aden Protectorate Levies where he spent most of his time running the stables and racing, but this time it was with camels rather than horses. From there he re-joined the Regiment, now 3rd East Anglian Regiment, in Malaya where he was mortar officer. Next came Ballykinlar in Northern Ireland with a second long equitation course in between. This made him one of the most qualified equitation officers in the Infantry and many years later he was recommended to command the army’s remount centre at Melton Mowbray. Predictably powerful cavalry voices in the MOD said this plum appointment could not possibly go to an infantryman and sadly they prevailed.

In Ballykinlar the bachelor officers became regulars at the local pub, Baloo House and it was not long before there were mixed hockey matches between them and the Baloo Belles. After one particular game David thought he ought to have a word with the young lady who kept whacking him on the shins with her hockey stick. It was Sue Taylor and when he discovered that she too loved horses, one thing rapidly led to another and they were married in August 1963.

David was next posted to Hertford as Adjutant of The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (TA) and it was here that Simon was born in 1965. From there and leaving the families behind it was back to the Pompadours, now 3rd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and once more to Aden for an emergency tour. Following the Battalion’s return to Tidworth David and Sue went to Singapore where apart from David’s military duties most of the time seems to have been spent on horseback. They both taught at the pony club and David raced at the Turf Club. Their second son, Jeremy who was born there in 1969.

Singapore was followed a tour as Adjutant of the Newcastle University OTC before rejoining the Battalion now in Paderborn Germany as OC Headquarter Company. Following an Op Banner tour in Londonderry David went to the MOD and the branch that dealt with adventurous training. Here he decided he ought to have personal knowledge of the activities he was dealing with so he was never in his office. He skied, rock climbed, mountaineered and other such sports. His one regret was that he failed to get riding accepted as an adventurous sport.

Their penultimate posting was at the Regimental Depot at Bassingbourne and while there they bought The Old Police House in Coveney which was their home until they moved to Huntingdon in 2007. In 1983 they moved back to Germany for David’s last posting where, as Adjutant of the Army Training Area at Sennelaager he was akin to the estate manager of several thousand acres of countryside. They both had horses and there were endless opportunities for shooting and fishing. It was perhaps their favourite posting and a great one to finish on.

In 1985 and now a civilian, David became the regimental area secretary at Warley in Essex where he remained for 17 years. He was Secretary of both The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and The Essex Regiment Associations where he diplomatically balanced the conflicting demands of the two former regiments with those of The Regiment. While there he was able to spend much of his leisure time shooting and fishing. He was a Syndicate Leader of the Thetford shoot for many years. A fine shot, he was respected for his sportsmanship, thoroughness and good humour.

He was also a leading light in the Ely and District Wildfowling Club. Both he and Sue played a full part in village and parish life at Coveney. When he finally retired in 2002 he had given 40 years of loyal service to The Regiment; a tremendous achievement. In his valedictory letter to him, in congratulating him for what had done for The Regiment the then Colonel of the Regiment wrote “you have achieved fame as being the only person able to audit the accounts with a shotgun under your arm”.

His soldiers respected and looked up to him. Although he ran a tight ship they knew that he put their interests first. He was cheerful and optimistic but very much a man’s man of the old school, steeped in tradition and believing in loyalty, integrity and keeping a stiff upper lip. Nowhere was this more evident that at the funeral of his son Jeremy who died in 2007 after a long battle with cancer. David gave his son’s eulogy and one can only imagine the personal courage that that took. In summary he was the epitome of the good regimental officer.

He leaves his widow Sue, Simon and his partner Nichole and two grandchildren, Isaac and Alina.