David Shouesmith became Chairman of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum in the summer of 2021.
He had a 28-year military career which included command at every level and three separate postings within Oxfordshire, to Abingdon, as squadron, regimental and station commander, and which included two tours of Bosnia and one to Afghanistan. His military specialisation was in logistics, support and acquisition, with a particular interest in enabling industry to assume a greater role in the provision of military capability. As the senior logistician in the UK Ministry of Defence 2007-2009 he was closely involved in the development of RAF Brize Norton as the hub of the UK’s Strategic Air Mobility Force.
Since leaving the Army in 2009 David has worked as a management consultant, in corporate strategy, strategic supply chain and critical project management across a range of industry sectors and with companies large and small. In 2016 he joined a US tech company to lead its UK and Europe market entry and in March 2020 he joined a start-up, Universal Defence and Security Solutions, to co-lead their business development. David has a rare blend of military and private sector experience, with a profound understanding of how people, systems and processes operate across the defence and industry enterprise to deliver commercially viable defence outputs.
David continues to serve as a colonel commandant of the Royal Logistic Corps and was the founding Chairman of the Royal Logistic Corps Foundation in 2016. He served as the Honorary Colonel of the Oxfordshire Army Cadet Force (The Rifles) from 2016-2020.
David is married with two grown-up daughters and lives in Abingdon. He continues to indulge his passion for rock climbing and mountain biking, in the UK and in select overseas locations, and maintains a strong interest in military history, political biography and geopolitics.
