Robin Durnford-Slater

Admiral Sir Robin Leonard Francis Durnford-Slater KCB (born Leonard Francis Slater; 9 July 1902 – 28 June 1984) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be the last Commander-in-Chief, The Nore.

Sir Robin Durnford-Slater
Birth nameLeonard Francis Slater
Born9 July 1902[1]
Punjab, British India[2]
Died28 June 1984 (1984-06-29) (aged 81)
Chichester, Sussex, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service1923–1961
RankAdmiral
Commands heldHMS Hermes
HMS Vernon
HMS Gambia
Nore Command
Battles/warsWorld War II
Suez Crisis
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Early life

Born as Leonard Francis Slater in 1902 in the Punjab area of India the son of Leonard Slater, an Army Captain and his wife Constance Durnford Slater. His younger brother John became notable as the first British Commando.[3]

He was educated at Summer Fields School.[4]

Durnford-Slater joined the Royal Navy in 1923.[5]

He served in World War II, initially as Executive Officer on the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes which was sunk in 1942.[6] He then joined the torpedo school HMS Vernon.[7] He next became Senior Officer for the 42nd and the 7th Escort Group of Western Approaches Command.[7] Later he became Training Captain on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches Command and finally Director of Underwater Weapons at the Admiralty.[7]

After the War he became Senior Officer for 1st Escort Flotilla in the Far East Fleet.[7] He went on to be Commandant at the School of Amphibious Warfare and then Captain of the cruiser HMS Gambia.[7] In 1953 he was made Deputy Controller of the Navy.[7] He commanding the Naval Forces during Suez Crisis in 1956.[8] After that he was made Flag Officer, Air and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet and then, from 1958, the last Commander-in-Chief, The Nore.[7] He retired in 1961.[7]

References
  1. India, Select Births and Baptisms, 1786-1947
  2. 1911 England Census
  3. Durnford-Slater, John (2002) [1953]. Commando: Memoirs of a Fighting Commando in World War Two. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-479-6.
  4. Usborne, Richard (1964). A Century of Summer Fields. Methuen. p. 106.
  5. "No. 32855". The London Gazette. 21 August 1923. p. 5700.
  6. HMS Hermes
  7. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  8. Suez Crisis: Operation Musketeer
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Frederick Parham		 Commander-in-Chief, The Nore
1958–1961		 Succeeded by
Post abolished
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