# David Warcliff — The Three Hostages character guide

> David Warcliff in The Three Hostages by John Buchan.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Warcliff, Davie, David, little David Warcliff

**First appearance:** 0003-ii-i-hear-of-the-three-hostages

## Snapshot

The youngest of Medina's three hostages, a small boy whose unseen captivity weighs on Hannay more than any other thread.

## Who they are

David Warcliff is held somewhere in Medina's black underworld, one of three prisoners whose memories are being quietly erased. Hannay, himself a father, finds his thoughts returning to the little boy again and again, and the child becomes the private measure of whether the whole desperate enterprise is worth its cost. He matters because his fate is the emotional centre of the rescue arc, and the reason Hannay cannot simply walk away.

## Relationships

### [Mary Hannay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/characters/mary_hannay)

_social_

David Warcliff is an acquaintance of Mary, connected through the social circles involved in the hostage crisis.

### [Macgillivray](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/characters/macgillivray)

_professional_

David Warcliff and Macgillivray are colleagues in intelligence or law enforcement, cooperating on the case against Medina.

### [Macgillivray](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/characters/macgillivray)

_professional_

David Warcliff and Macgillivray are colleagues in intelligence or law enforcement, cooperating on the case against Medina.

### [Mary Hannay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/characters/mary_hannay)

_social_

David Warcliff is an acquaintance of Mary, connected through the social circles involved in the hostage crisis.

### [Mary Hannay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/characters/mary_hannay)

_social_

David Warcliff is an acquaintance of Mary, connected through the social circles involved in the hostage crisis.

## In the story

### [II: I Hear of the Three Hostages](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/chapters/ii-i-hear-of-the-three-hostages)

One of the three hostages, a ten-year-old boy and only child of Sir Arthur Warcliff. He disappeared while walking home across the marshes after Sunday lunch.

### [III: Researches in the Subconscious](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/chapters/iii-researches-in-the-subconscious)

The missing boy; Hannay's thoughts are consumed by his plight.

### [Sir Archibald Roylance Puts His Foot in It](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/chapters/xiv-sir-archibald-roylance-puts-his-foot-in-it)

The missing little boy whose fate torments Hannay and Mary; Mary vows to stop at nothing to find him.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/characters/david_warcliff
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/characters