Sir David Rose

TIMES INT'L
Sir David in ceremonial dress at Parliament House

Sir David Rose was a governor general of Guyana, appointed in 1966 and governor up to the time of his death in 1969. The son of a Georgetown doctor, he was born April 10, 1923 and grew up in Mahaica, ECD; he was educated at the Jesuit school of Mount St. Mary, Derbyshire in England.
After war service with the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, he joined the Colonial Police in 1948. His first police post was as assistant police superintendent in British Guiana.
In 1960 he was appointed Federal Defence Officer of the former Federation of the West Indies and retired in 1962 after its dissolution.
He became acting administrator of Antigua in 1962 and of St. Lucia in 1963. In 1964 he became administrator of Antigua until he became Governor-General of Guyana in 1966.
He used to sing with the Georgetown choirs while a policeman, and as Governor-General once sang at a Georgetown charity concert. From time to time he sang in the Cathedral Choir.
His honours included The Colonial Police Medal with bar for gallantry, Member of the British Empire (1954) and Companion of the Victorian Order (1966); he was conferred Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1966.
The Order of Excellence of Guyana was awarded posthumously in 1970.
Sir David James Gardiner Rose died Nov. 10, 1969, after scaffolding fell in a street at Whitehall Place, Westminster, England, burying under rubble the car in which he was travelling. He was 46.
He was in London at the time to relinquish his office prior to Guyana becoming a Republic in Feb. 1970, and was buried at Seven Ponds, known as the Place of Heroes, in the Botanical Gardens in Georgetown.
The David Rose School for the Handicapped, which was established in the 1960s, and Sir David Rose Avenue in Mackenzie, Linden were named in honour of the man who it is said was tipped to be the first president of Guyana.

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