Lieutenant-Colonel William David Allan OBE (4 November 1879 – 9 January 1961), known as David Allan, was a British soldier and police officer. Allan was born in Elgin, Moray, Scotland. He was educated at Elgin Academy and

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the t ...

and commissioned a second lieutenant in the 3rd (

Morayshire Moray; ( gd, Moireibh ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It ...

) Volunteer Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders on 4 January 1902. He transferred to the Regular Army, in the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regime ...

, on 8 February 1902, and served with his regiment in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. After the end of hostilities there in June 1902, he left

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

with other men of the regiment on the SS ''Orissa'', which arrived at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in late October 1902. He had been promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

by 1910. On 20 June 1910, he became adjutant (and promoted temporary captain) of the 10th (Cyclist) Battalion,

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regime ...

(

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

). He was promoted major in 1917. On 1 January 1919, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). Allan served as Chief Constable of

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle's ...

from 1919 to 1920, and Chief Constable of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

from 1920 until 22 June 1927. He was then appointed

HM Inspector of Constabulary His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) is a public body of the Scottish Government and reports to the Scottish Parliament. It has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the effectiveness and efficiency of the ...

for Scotland. He was promoted

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

in the Reserve of Officers on 27 March 1929. On 1 December 1930 he was appointed one of the two HM Inspectors of Constabulary for

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

. On 8 June 1931 he became Assistant Commissioner "A" of the London Metropolitan Police, in charge of uniformed policing. However, on 3 November 1931 he returned to the post of Inspector of Constabulary for England and Wales. He retired on 31 August 1938. Allan married Eve Crozier; they had three sons. He died at his home in Elgin in 1961, aged 81.Obituary, ''The Times'', 10 January 1961

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, David People from Elgin, Moray British Chief Constables Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Black Watch officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1879 births 1961 deaths People educated at Blundell's School Chief Inspectors of Constabulary (Scotland) Inspectors of Constabulary Territorial Force officers