Major David Francis Oliphant Russell (1915 – 1993) was a British businessman and philanthropist.

Life

He was born at Rothes House (near Glenrothes) on 9 September 1915, the son of Sir David Russell and his wife, Alison Blyth. He was educated privately at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. He then took a general Arts degree at St Andrews University, graduating MA.Review of Scottish Culture 1995 In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was commissioned as an officer in the 7th battalion Black Watch and was severely wounded at the Battle of El Alamein. He won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

for his actions. Further wounded twice, at both

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

as part of the invasion of Sicily and Italy and again at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

as part of the

D-Day landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, he was invalided out of the army in 1944. In 1956 he succeeded his father as Chairman of Tullis Russell & Co Ltd, paper-makers in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. From 1963 he began taking on various senior administrative roles at St Andrews University. In 1969 he was created a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

for his services to business, to university and to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

gave him an honorary doctorate (DSc) in 1973 and St Andrews University gave hime a second honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1977. In 1974 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were Thomas Malcolm Knox,

Alick Buchanan-Smith, Baron Balerno Brigadier Alick Drummond Buchanan-Smith, Baron Balerno, (9 October 1898 – 28 July 1984) was a British soldier and prominent geneticist. Life He was born in Glasgow, the son of Alice Lillian (née Buchanan), daughter of Sir George Buchanan, a ...

Robert Allan Smith Dr Robert Allan Smith CBE FRS PRSE (14 May 1909 – 16 May 1980) was a British mathematician and physicist.S.D. Smith, Robert Allan Smith, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, vol.28, 479-504, 1982. Biography Smith (known to h ...

and

Anthony Elliot Ritchie Anthony Elliot Ritchie FRSE FRCPE LLD (30 March 1915–14 September 1997) was a 20th-century Scottish physiologist and educator. Life Ritchie was born at 20 Upper Gray Street, Edinburgh on 30 March 1915, the only son of Jessie Jane Elliot and ...

. He served as the Society's Vice President from 1943 to 1946. He died at Rossie House in Fife on 3 January 1993.

References

1915 births 1993 deaths People from Glenrothes People educated at Sedbergh School Black Watch officers Alumni of the University of St Andrews Recipients of the Military Cross Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish philanthropists 20th-century British philanthropists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War II 20th-century British businesspeople Military personnel from Fife {{UK-business-bio-stub