David Graham Muschet Campbell was born on 28 Jan 1869, the son of Major H Wooton Campbell of the Cameron Highlanders. He was educated at Clifton College, entering the army as a cadet at Sandhurst and commissioned into the 9th Lancers on 15 Mar 1889. He was a successful sportsman as well as a soldier, playing cricket for his school and Sandhurst teams and later excelling at polo and horse racing. He won the Grand National at Aintree in 1896, on a horse called Soarer, thus earning him his nickname ‘Soarer’. He served in the Boer War, taking part in the battles at Belmont, Modder River, Magersfontein, the relief of Kimberley, and Paardeburg in Feb 1900 where he was wounded. He was rewarded with a brevet of major in August 1902. He went to India with the regiment, promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 15 Mar 1912, and put in command of the regiment.
He was the CO of the 9th Lancers when World War One broke out, and he took them to France with the BEF. He led them in two cavalry charges, one at Elouges on 24 Aug 1914 and again at Moncel on 7 Sep 1914. In this action he was wounded three times, a bullet in the leg, a lance wound in the shoulder and a sword wound in his arm. Despite his injuries, when he was found lying on the ground he told the doctor, “I’ve just had the best quarter of an hour in my life.” But in November he was promoted to command 6th Cavalry Brigade, handing over command of the regiment to Major Beale-Brown. In 1916 he commanded the 21st Division and was appointed CB. In 1919 he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB).
After the war he was GOC (General Officer Commanding) Baluchistan in India in 1920, and then Commander-in-Chief at Aldershot in 1927. He was appointed Colonel of the 9th Lancers on 2 Sep 1930 and Governor of Malta from 1931 to 1936. During his time there, he was obliged to dissolve the elected assembly and return the island to direct British Rule which lasted until the end of WW2. In 1935 he was further elevated to KCB (Knight Grand Cross).
He was married in June 1899 to Janet Mary Aikman the daughter of Sir Robert Smith Aikman. This was just prior to his sailing to South Africa for the Boer War. He and his wife had a daughter, Irene born in 1902. Soon after resigning as Governor of Malta through ill health, he died on 12 March 1936.
