the wellington college year book 2010/2011
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brigadier d.m. stileman, obe
[bl 1937–1942]
D
avid was a noted rugby
player
at
Wellington,
‘where his size and speed
were used to good effect
in the xv’. Commissioned
into the Rifle Brigade in 1943, he was early
in action in Normandy in 1944 during
Operation Goodwood, fighting to break
out from the bridgehead formed by the
Normandy landings. On recce patrol ahead
of the battalion, David was fortunate to
remain unscathed in a village ‘groaning with
Germans’, but was shot between the eyes
in a later encounter, from which after eight
surgical operations and losing part of his jaw,
he survived fit to fight on in the campaign. He
was awarded the Polish Silver Cross of Merit.
For many years after the war David was
well-known to generations of Staff College
students on battlefield tours to Normandy,
becoming friends with his adversary from
Germany, Colonel Hans von Luck.
While still in the Army, David played for
Harlequins and Berkshire for many years,
being invited to attend an England trial: he
finally retired from the Rugby field aged 51.
He served with the Parachute Regiment
fought against Mao-mao in Kenya, guerrillas
in Malaya and British Guiana and commanded
a company of the Somali Scouts, where he
instituted a novel selection process based
on getting the ball out of the rugby scrum.
David’s last tour was as Defence Advisor to
the British High Commissioner in Nigeria,
where he had to use his diplomatic skills. As
a soldiers’ soldier, David was proud that he
never served in the Ministry of Defence, but
Whitehall finally summoned him as Yeoman
Usher to the Black Rod in the House of Lords
between 1979–1988. There as a committed
Christian he and his wife Barbara used to
host Bible study for their Lordships in his flat
in the Palace of Westminster. His three sons
were all notable sportsmen at Wellington,
Anthony [T 1967–1972], James [T 1973–
1978] and William [T 1976–1981].