Brigadier Walter Sydney Douglas was a good friend of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart and a key member of the Home-Army Fifth Operational Corps. When HAVOC was first formed, Douglas was Lethbridge-Stewart's second-in-command. He later replaced Lethbridge-Stewart as the leader of the corps.
History
Pre-HAVOC
In the 1950s, Douglas was best friends with Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart at Sandhurst Military School and was one of the "holy trinity" of ambitious cadets alongside Leslie Johnston. After Sandhurst, he became a major in the Prince of Wales' Own Regiment of Yorkshire and continued to be Alistair's best friend.
In 1968, he introduced Sally Wright to Lethbridge-Stewart, and was to be best man at their wedding. Dougie as also aware of the man's fling with Doris and was one of the few people who could get away with bringing her up.
In March 1969, Major Douglas was called in to assist Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart in the clear up after the London Event and, when Lethbridg-Stewart was on leave, took over from him. He was unaware that the Event had been an alien attack. After the clear up of the London Event, Douglas was promoted to lieutenant colonel. (PROSE: The Forgotten Son)
In April 1969, he was called in by Major General Hamilton to assist journalist Larry Greene in finding Lethbridge-Stewart, after the colonel failed to reach Tibet. They tracked down Lethbridge-Stewart's crashed plane in East Germany, although Lethbridge-Stewart was nowhere to be seen. He was on hand when Professor Travers and Anne Travers discovered that Lethbridge-Stewart was trapped in an alternative 1959, and found a way to bring him back. (PROSE: The Schizoid Earth)
By May 1969 he was stationed at County Down, dealing with riots in Northern Ireland. While back in England on leave with his wife, he was brought in to help Lethbridge-Stewart on Fang Rock, but only arrived in time to help clean-up. He, Penny, Lethbridge-Stewart and Sally later had dinner together. (PROSE: Beast of Fang Rock)
Early time at HAVOC
In late June 1969 he was officially transferred to the Home-Army Fifth Operational Corps as Lethbridge-Stewart's second in command. In July he oversaw the refurbishment of Dolerite Base, and admitted he was still unconvinced about the idea of aliens existing, but Lethbridge-Stewart assured him that would soon change. He was also looking forward to moving to Edinburgh with his wife and son, Jacob. (PROSE: Moon Blink) They moved to Edinburgh in September and the attack of the Grandfathers on Strommach helped convince him of alien life. (PROSE: The Grandfather Infestation)
Later life
When Lethbridge-Stewart left HAVOC in 1973, (PROSE: The Enfolded Time) Douglas was promoted to brigadier and put in command of the corps. (PROSE: Ashes of the Inferno)
Behind the scenes
A number of the details of Douglas' life are revealed in his character profile on the Lethbridge-Stewart website, including that he was born on 8 May 1931 in Hounslow, and was based on director Douglas Camfield. [1]
Footnotes
- ↑ The Cast of Lethbridge-Stewart. https://lethbridgestewartnovels.wordpress.com. Retrieved on 20.01.17.