Obituaries

Person With AIDS. PWA was adapted into a stage play and was performed in London's Drill
Hall theatre in October 2001.
Lt. Col. DAVID M LIMB MBE PARA (1971-1978)
died unexpectedly on 11 Aug 2000 whilst on leave at his home in France.
He was just 39 years old. He had been in command of 3 PARA for a week, and he was
looking forward to joining the Battalion at Colchester when it formed up after its Anns Plot
move from Dover.
I first met David at Sandhurst in 1982. He was an Army Scholar and had been at Oxford
University. We were on different courses and he had already been accepted by the
Parachute Regiment. But even then, it was clear that David was something special. He was
articulate, gregarious and athletic, despite only being just over five and a half feet tall. He
was also well-read and intelligent. More importantly, he was clearly going to be an
outstanding soldier and officer, and it was not surprising that he won the Queen's Medal
when he passed out of Sandhurst, as the outstanding graduate of his course.
Prior to joining 3 PARA, he took part in a successful expedition to the Himalayas led by Jon
Fleming. Six years later, we served together in 1 PARA in 1988-9 when he was the Adjutant
and I was the Signals Officer. In the intervening period. David had continued his very
successful military career. Initially with 3 PARA as a PI Comd, he then had served in Uganda
with the British Military Training Team, after which he was awarded an MBE at the age of 24
for assisting in the evacuation of British nationals during a coup. There then followed 18
months as ADC to Gen Geoffrey Hewlett in Norway.
David was an outstanding Adjutant and it was then that he really made his mark. His
enthusiasm, drive and positive attitude were hallmarks of his 2 years under John Keith and
Dick Trigger. He involved himself in all aspects of Battalion life, not just limiting himself to Gl
matters. He knew virtually all of the Battalion by name. I particularly recall his fiercely
competitive spirit which always came to the fore during inter-company sports, or even whilst
playing a quick game of squash. In everything that he did, David gave his all.