David Picton-King
David Picton-King was born in Germany in 1951, son of a British Royal Engineers officer and an Australian mother. After 5 years in Germany and the UK, his father resigned his Commission and the family moved to Western Australia, setting up home in the capital city Perth.
After completing his education, in 1973 David joined the Western Australia Police Force as a Constable in the largest police jurisdiction in the world.
He worked in suburban and rural stations, and in 1977 was accepted as a Detective in the Criminal Investigation Branch. Over the next 24 years he worked in a variety of specialist areas and squads. In 1995 he became Officer-in-Charge of the Bureau of Criminal Intelligence.
The need for information technology saw him become Director of large projects to move the force into modern IT systems. Throughout those years he gained promotions, becoming an Inspector in 1996.
He has a daughter Melinda from his first marriage, and 2 grandchildren. in 2000 he married his wife Caroline and together they established a vineyard, restaurant and cellar sales venue in the Mount Barker wine region.
In 2004 he gained a management position in the Police District Office at Albany on the south coast, near Mount Barker. Albany became their permanent home.
David always had an interest in medals and researching the history of their recipients. He started collecting in the 1980's but his focus on Police medals, and particularly awards by UK local authorities became possible on retirement in 2015.
