Brigadier Ernest Walter Davie Western (1901–1952) was the first son of Walter Western (1871–1936) and Elizabeth Ann Heard (1875–1952). E.W.D. Western was born on 2 Feb, 1901, in Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

. He was educated at the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys

Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys

Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys is a selective boys school of over 1000 pupils and staff, located in the outskirts of Canterbury, Kent. It holds both Foundation and Grammar school status and has 'specialist college' status in science....

, Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

, in 1918. He passed the entrance exam to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, 1919 and was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment.

In late 1937 he married Pamela Rachel Petrides (the daughter of Sir Philip "Bertie" Petrides the Chief Justice of the Gold Coast (1936–1943)), and they had three children: Caroline C. Western (1943), Pamela J. Gay Western (1947), and Christopher J. Western (1949).

D.S.O

In late 1940, while commanding the 3rd Battalion of the Gold Coast Regiment (12th Division of the 24th Gold Coast Brigade

2nd (West Africa) Infantry Brigade

The 2nd Infantry Brigade was a World War II unit of the British Army it was formed from battalions of the Royal West African Frontier Force in 1940...

), Lieutenant-Colonel E.W.D. Western took action with his brigade that later earned him a D.S.O.

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

 His D.S.O was announced in the London Gazette on 30 December 1941. His commanding officer made a recommendation for him to receive the D.S.O. which reads:

FOR CONSPICUOUSLY MERITORIOUS SERVICES.

This officer has commanded his Battalion on Active Service with marked ability during the whole of the East African campaign. His Battalion was only formed in October 1939, and all the men and practically all the officers were recruits. By his devotion to duty, his personal example, and coolness under fire, he has set a very fine example to his Battalion with the result that they have assumed the offensive spirit to a marked degree. In recent operations at UADARA, North of NEGHELLI (Negele, Ethiopia), his Battalion were acting as an Independent unit directly under Division. He led his Battalion with great skill and succeeded in pushing back a large enemy force a distance of 3 miles from their strong covering positions on to their main positions, killing a large number of enemy in the process. His gallantry and untiring perseverance during these operations were most marked.

• Signed: AB Cunningham
  Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
  Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope KT, GCB, OM, DSO and two Bars , was a British admiral of the Second World War. Cunningham was widely known by his nickname, "ABC"....
  
  
• Signed: Melville Richards
  Collen Edward Melville Richards
  Collen Edward Melville Richards was an officer in the British Army during World War I and World War II.Joining the East Lancashire Regiment in 1911, Brigadier Richards commanded the 24th Gold Coast Brigade during the East African Campaign.-Command history:* Commanding Officer, Gold Coast Regiment...
  
  , Brigadier, 24th (Gold Coast) Brigade.
• "Recommended on his record during his period 15 Nov '40 to S. Africa {illegible}"
• Signed: {illegible}, Major-General, Commander 12th (African) Division.

Between 1946 and 1951 he commanded the 2nd Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment in Germany and the 129th Infantry Brigade in Oxford. In 1951 he was posted to Kenya to command troops in the Northern Area which was the center of the Mau Mau

Mau Mau Uprising

The Mau Mau Uprising was a military conflict that took place in Kenya between 1952 and 1960...

 rebellion of late 1952. In September 1952, while on local leave, he suffered a heart attack and died in hospital at Malindi

Malindi

Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi is 117,735 . It is the capital of the Malindi District.Tourism is the major industry in Malindi. The city is...

, Mombassa on 19 December 1952. He is buried in the Mombassa Municipal Cemetery, grave D93.