Background
He was born the elder son of Justice Benjamin Plunkett Lentaigne of the Burma High Court .
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Walter David Alexander Lentaigne
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He educated at the Oratory School, Edgbaston, Birmingham. His family had origins in Navan, County Meath in Ireland, but was domiciled in then Burma (a part of British India).
Career
Lentaigne was an outsider in the Chindit organization. He was appointed by General Wavell in the spring of 1943 to raise 111th Indian Brigade as a second Chindit Brigade. Because Wingate was in Burma conducting the Chindit operation (Operation Longcloth), he was unable to influence the choice. Wingate's dislike of Indian Army officers and in particular officers of Gurkha battalions also worked against Lentaigne. He objected to the appointment after he learned of it but was unable to do anything about it.
On Wingate's death, Lentaigne took over command of the Chindit organization. He was the seniormost officer in the Chindits and also had the most command experience. General Slim described the problems involved in replacing Wingate within the Chindits: "To step into Wingate's place would be no easy task. His successor had to be someone known to the men of Special Force, one who had shared their hardships and in whose skill and courage they could trust". Again, "British Commanders" states "the inevitable choice for the new chief of the Chindits was Major General Lentaigne. He was one of Wingate's closest disciples and a veteran of the Burma fighting.
Amongst his rivals for the position including Mike Calvert and Derek Tulloch there was criticism of this decision. They alleged that Lentaigne was the Chindit leader least in tune with Wingate's methods and tactics. They also pointed out that he had commanded 111 Indian Brigade in the field for only a few weeks. After the war, certain of his rivals used the comments of his Brigade Major John Masters with regard to Lentaigne's age out of context to attack him.
Lentaigne had been a distinguished battalion commander who had fought during the 1942 Burma campaign. The other Chindit brigade commanders were unknown quantities lacking Staff College qualifications or significant time in command of even a battalion-sized formation. Additionally, there was no clear successor to Wingate even among his closest followers. Each of them thought that they would have been (or were) Wingate's obvious successor. Field Marshal Lord Slim wrote in his memoirs of the Burma War, Defeat into Victory, that after Wingate's death, at least three officers went to him, and told him, separately and confidentially, that Wingate had designated each of them as the divisional commander, in the event of his death.
In February 1948, he was asked to lead Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington in the Nilgiris in what's now the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In 1950, he predicted problems for India after conquest of Tibet by China and sparred with visiting foreign secretary of India at Wellington. He would serve as the Commandant DSSC Wellington from 1948-1955.
He retired in 1955 and died soon after returning to London.
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