Major General Sir Digby Raeburn

Major General Sir Digby Raeburn was born in 1915. He was educated at Winchester and Magdalene Cambridge where he took a First in History. He was commissioned into the Scots Guard in 1936. During WW2 he saw service in North Africa and in 1945  was awarded the DSO.   Following his successful career in the Army, he was appointed as Governor of the Tower of London  and Keeper of the Jewel House. On one occasion Raeburn was chased by one of the Tower’s resident ravens ; when the Governor turned and attempted to stand his ground, the raven (known as Hector) bit him – and found himself banished to London Zoo.  He was appointed  CB in 1966 and KCVO in 1979.

He married Adeline Pryor in 1960 and they lived in 25 St Ann’s Terrace, St John’s Wood.  He was   chairman of the St John’s Wood Society in the 1990s (?).  He died, aged 86, in 2001.