Son, duty-bound soldier, military lawyer, truth-teller, father.
Son of the renowned Sydney obstetrician Dr William McBride (who raised the alarm on the anti-nausea drug thalidomide in the 1960s and was later struck off the medical register for falsifying research results in a bid to challenge the safety of another drug), David McBride chose to study Law, firstly at Sydney University and then at Oxford. At Oxford he met some British army officers and decided that soldiering was his calling, so went on to train at Sandhurst. He commanded a platoon in Northern Ireland while bomb and sniper attacks on British soldiers were still happening.
In civilian life he worked in security, protecting diplomats, journalists and businesspeople in Rwanda in the immediate aftermath of the 1994 genocide, and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After growing tired of the travel and action, David returned to England, where he worked in reality TV.
On moving back to Sydney, he briefly joined a major law firm and then joined the Australian Army as a lawyer, going on to serve two tours of duty in Afghanistan where, on the frontline, part of his job was to confirm or deny decisions made by soldiers under international laws. He was medically discharged with PTSD in 2017. In 2018 he was charged with offences related to national security, and he is now awaiting trial. In 2022 he was reregistered to practise law in New South Wales.
Crammed with colour, adventure, achievements and some diversions, The Nature of Honour is the fascinating story of David's life so far.
