Obituaries

David Kirk W65

David enjoyed his years at Canford, particularly his time on the rugby pitch. He thrived under the care of housemaster Mike Frewer, who Tim Kirk (W61) remembers as a great, understated master who in turn enjoyed the loan of a mobile home each summer holidays from their father who was director of Autohomes based in Poole.

Prior to starting university, David and oldest brother Tim spent the long summer holidays driving across Europe to Rimini, where their other brother, the late Andrew Kirk (W62) and his pop group were performing. According to Tim, the trip taught David many things about life after school. After that, a temporary job at London Zoo saw him badly scratched by a tiger in his care. David went up to Oxford to read law at St Peter’s College and then into private practice. He was subsequently made partner at Simons, Muirhead & Burton after running the fraud department at Stephenson Harwood. He then became a barrister and a director at the Crown Prosecution Service, responsible for all fraud cases.

David met his wife Penny in hospital when he was recovering from a cycling accident, having hit a pothole. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary last year, and hosted their celebrations in a London pub. The couple had three sons: Henry, a brewer; Charlie who works in the London restaurant business and Edward who lives in Canada and followed his father into the law.

David and Penny lived in north London and until recently used their holiday house near Sherborne at weekends. In Tim’s words: ‘Above all David enjoyed life, and as his last directorships ended, he was plotting new adventures. But at home, his excellent cooking and entertainment skills were always much appreciated by his many friends.’ David died suddenly in August, following his brother Andrew who died in France just before the pandemic.