Sir David Clive Crosbie Trench (; 2 June 1915 – 4 December 1988) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and colonial governor.

Early life

Trench was educated at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...

, Kent and graduated from

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

with the degree of

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

(M.A.).

War service

In 1938, Trench entered the Colonial Service as a cadet in the

British Solomon Islands The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first declared over the southern Solomons in 1893, when Captain Gibson, R.N., of , declared the southern islands a British protectorate. Other islands were subsequently declared to form part o ...

Protectorate and was seconded to the Western Pacific High Commission in 1941. He was also commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

( Supplementary Reserve). From 1939 to 1945, he fought in the Second World War and served in the

British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force The British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force (BSIPDF) was a locally recruited military unit in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate during World War II. It was created following the outbreak of war with Japan in 1942 and disbanded ...

from 1942 to 1946. For this, Trench was awarded the decoration of 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 ...

and the US Legion of Merit in 1944. That year he was posted to the island of

Malaita Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...

, with the task of repressing the

Maasina Rule Maasina Ruru was an emancipation movement for self-government and self-determination in the British Solomon Islands during and after World War II, 1945–1950, credited with creating the movement towards independence for the Solomon Islands. The ...

, an uprising aimed at securing independence for Malaita. In August 1947, he was appointed Secretary for Development and Native Affairs, and his crackdown on the Maasina Rule continued. Trench attained the rank of

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 colonel. ...

in 1947 and studied at the Joint Services Command and Staff College in

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

, Wiltshire in 1949.

Colonial administration career

Trench served as

Governor of the Solomon Islands This is a list of the resident commissioners of the British Solomon Islands British protectorate, protectorate (1893–1975) and the Dependent territory, dependent Solomon Islands (1975–1978). Resident commissioners of the Solomon Islands Pro ...

and

High Commissioner for the Western Pacific The High Commissioner for the Western Pacific was the chief executive officer of the British Western Pacific Territories, a British colonial entity, which existed from 1877 until 1976. Numerous colonial possessions were attached to the Territori ...

from 1961 to 1964. In 1950, Trench became Assistant Secretary to the Deputy Defence Secretary for Hong Kong. He eventually held the office of Deputy Financial Secretary in 1956 and Commissioner of Labour and Mines in 1957. In 1958, Trench studied at the Imperial Defence College in London. Trench served as Deputy Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong between 1959 and 1960. He left Hong Kong to take up the office of High Commissioner for the

British Western Pacific Territories The British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) was the name of a colonial entity, created in 1877, for the administration, under a single representative of the British Crown, styled High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, of a series of Paci ...

between 1961 and 1964, but returned to Hong Kong as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Hong Kong between 1964 and 1971. His governorship in Hong Kong inherited from his predecessor an increasingly prosperous city, along with numerous social issues that came with it: water shortages, refugees from mainland China, and an alarming rise in official corruptions. After major riots in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, his administration belatedly introduced some social reforms, including the establishment of City District Offices in 1968 as links between the government and the public; the legislation of an eight-hour work day, six-day work week in 1971; and the introduction of a six-year compulsory primary school education, also in 1971.

Personal life

Trench married Margaret Gould on 18 August 1944. The couple had one daughter, Katherine Elizabeth (1956–2017). Trench was also a distant kinsman of the

Barons Ashtown Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

, and one of his distant relatives, Nigel Clive Cosby Trench, also worked in the Foreign Service and succeeded to the Barony of Ashtown in 1990. Trench died on 4 December 1988, aged 73.

Offices and honours

* C.M.G., 1960 *

K.C.M.G. The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honou ...

, 1962 * K.St.J., 1964 *Honorary

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

degree from the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...

, 1968 * G.C.M.G., 1969 *Governor of Hong Kong, 1964 to 1971 *President of St. John Ambulance Brigade and Association in Dorset since 1972. *Chairman, Dorset Area Health Authority from 1973 to 1982 * Deputy Lieutenant of Dorset, 1977 *The Trench

Methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid agonist used for chronic pain and also for opioid dependence. It is used to treat chronic pain, and it is also used to treat addiction to heroin ...

Clinic and the David Trench Rehabilitation Clinic, both in Hong Kong, are named after him *

Ching Cheung Road Ching Cheung Road (), part of the Route 7, is a dual carriageway in New Kowloon, Hong Kong linking Lung Cheung Road and Tai Po Road near Tai Wo Ping and Kwai Chung Road of Route 5 near Lai Chi Kok, varying between 2+2 lanes and 3+4 lanes for ...

in Kwai Chung, New Territories, Hong Kong is named in honour of him

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trench, David Colonial Administrative Service officers High Commissioners for the Western Pacific 1915 births 1988 deaths Governors of Hong Kong Governors of the Solomon Islands

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...