Fighting properly: General David Richards, former UK armed forces chief, on a career in uniform and his pal Colin Firth
- General David Richards reflects on his rise through the British military ranks, serving in global trouble spots, and why Colin Firth wanted to play him on film
I was raised in that end-of-empire era. My generation grew up on stories of World War II. My father was in the army and my parents moved to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), where my elder sister was born, then back to the UK and then to Egypt, where I was born, in 1952.
I was 18 months old when we moved to the UK and almost six when we moved to Cyprus. The EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) troubles – effectively a Greek-Cypriot freedom fight against the British – meant we had armed soldiers on the school bus to protect us.
Army officers in that period, and even now, weren’t paid very well. It was a community-focused life based on the army. My brother and cousin were also in the army. I’m what’s known colloquially as an “army brat”.
Upping sticks
We left Cyprus in 1959 and I went to a prep school in London and then in Eastbourne. We got through the trials and tribulations of moving and the sometimes inadequate housing the army gave us because we were a close-knit family.
When I was 11, we moved to Sussex, where my parents came from, and we lived in a little village near Herstmonceux.
Many years later, when I was made a lord, the person tasked with coming up with my title asked where I’d grown up. I told him about Herstmonceux and he said, “That’ll do.”
Learning to lead
I did better than anticipated at Eastbourne College, where I went when I was 13. I wasn’t particularly academic; it was only later that I discovered I had a bit of a brain. I was most interested in playing rugby and cricket and had a little gang of friends.
