Rear-Admiral David Charles Cairns, 5th Earl Cairns, (3 July 1909 – 21 March 1989), styled Viscount Garmoyle from 1942 to 1946, was Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1971.
Early life
Cairns was born on 3 July 1909. He was the second son of Wilfred Cairns, 4th Earl Cairns, and Olive Cobbold. His elder brother, Brig. Hugh Cairns, Viscount Garmoyle, died unmarried at age 35 in 1942 at El Alamein, Egypt, from wounds received in action. Among his sisters were Lady Hester (who married Robert Bourne), Lady Ursula (who married John Roland Abbey), Lady Sheila (who married Maj. Charles Holroyd of the Rifles), and Lady Katharine (who was a Senior Commander in the Auxiliary Territorial Service). He served in World War II and succeeded as the 5th Earl Cairns in 1946, then was promoted to captain on 30 Jun 1949, before becoming deputy director of the Signal Department at the Admiralty in 1950. he was appointed President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, in 1958 before retiring in 1961.