David Peter Mason (1951-2025) was a grandson of James Francis Mason (1861-1929) and took over the running of the family estate (including Eynsham Park) when his father died in 1982. He had a career in the Army and served three tours of duty in Northern Ireland; then in 1974 he volunteered for secondment to the Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces. Report from peeragenews.blogspot.com, the photo shows him in Oman in 1975.
He distinguished himself on active service in the Dhofar War in 1975, personally saving 12 men’s lives in battle and later rescuing others from a minefield. He was awarded the Sultan’s Bravery Medal. After leaving the Army in 1979 Mason joined Sir Ranulph Fiennes on the Transglobe Expedition, travelling to both the South and North Poles.
His first novel, ‘Shadow over Babylon’, published in 1992, was an immediate International bestseller. He was later (1994-5) appointed High Sheriff of Oxfordshire. He was made a Deputy Lieutenant for the county in 2004. He handed over the running of Eynsham Park to his son Michael in 2020.
The Eynsham Connection
Eynsham Park was a part of the ancient parish of Eynsham until a boundary change in 1932.
Grandfather James Francis Mason was closely involved with Eynsham village. He gave an address at the dedication of the War Memorial in 1921 and formally opened the ‘Eynsham Institute and Club’ (later Eynsham Sports & Social Club) in 1922, contributing a loan of £200 to the ‘Hut Fund’. His son, David’s father, evidently continued the connection: Daisy Ainsley Grabsky (Eynsham Record 24, 2007) recalls that the Mason family would invite a class from the Board School to have tea every year from 1921-1937... though not in Eynsham Hall itself, but in a garage on the estate!