Ian Edward Fraser, (18 December 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an English

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

pioneer, sailor and recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces. Fraser was born in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

and went to school in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

. After initially working on merchant ships and serving in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

, he joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

at the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for actions while serving on submarines, he was placed in command of a midget submarine during an attack in Singapore codenamed

Operation Struggle The XE-class submarines were a series of twelve midget submarines that were built for the Royal Navy during 1944; four more to a slightly different design were built 1954-5 as the Stickleback-class submarine, ''Stickleback'' class. They were ...

. For his bravery in navigating the mined waters, and successfully placing mines on a Japanese cruiser, Fraser was awarded the Victoria Cross. After retiring from the Royal Navy, Fraser set up a commercial diving organisation after realising the ease of use of new

frogman A frogman is someone who is trained in scuba diving or swimming underwater. The term often applies more to professional rather than recreational divers, especially those working in a tactical capacity that includes military, and in some Europea ...

-type diving equipment. After serving in several honorary positions on the Wirral, Fraser retired from the Royal Naval Reserve as a lieutenant commander in 1965. He died on 1 September 2008, on the Wirral, Merseyside.

Early life

Fraser was born in

in 1920. He was the elder son of Sydney Fraser, a marine engineer. He attended the

Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, is a selective boys' grammar school situated in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. As a state school, it does not charge fees for pupils to attend, but they must pass the 11 plus, an exam that some pr ...

, and the school ship . He worked on

merchant ships A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

from 1938 to 1939.

Second World War

Fraser joined the

in 1939, initially with the rank of

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

, serving on several destroyers. In 1943, he joined the

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 1943 for "bravery and skill in successful submarine patrols." In 1944, at age 24, he became a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the Royal Naval Reserve, and volunteered to serve on the 'X' craft midget submarine depot ship from 7 November 1944 to July 1945. Ian Fraser was played by actor Martin Delaney in a TV show entitled, ''Victoria Cross Heroes''. The show was narrated in part by

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

. It tells the story of Fraser's attempt to sink the ''Takao'' on a secret mission aboard a midget submarine. On 31 July 1945 in the

Straits of Johor The Johor Strait (also known as the Tebrau Strait, Straits of Johor, Selat Johor, Selat Tebrau, and Tebrau Reach, also spelled Johore Strait) is an international strait in Southeast Asia, between Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. Geography ...

between

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and Malaya, Lieutenant Fraser, in command of an improved X-boat, HMS ''XE-3'', attacked the Japanese

heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...

''Takao'', after making a long and hazardous journey through mined waters. Fraser slid the submarine under the ''Takao'', which lay over a depression in the sea bed, and his diver Acting Leading Seaman

James Joseph Magennis James Joseph Magennis, VC (27 October 1919 – 12 February 1986) was a Belfast-born sailor and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...

went out to fix the

limpet mine A limpet mine is a type of naval mine attached to a target by magnets. It is so named because of its superficial similarity to the shape of the limpet, a type of sea snail that clings tightly to rocks or other hard surfaces. A swimmer or diver m ...

s to the bottom of the ship. The two side-charges then had to be released from ''XE-3'', but the starboard charge stuck and Magennis climbed out again and after a nerve-wracking seven minutes released the charge. ''XE-3'' then made for home. Magennis was also awarded a

, and Fraser became a lieutenant commander. The citation was published in a supplement to the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' of 9 November 1945 (dated 13 November 1945) and read: His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

, London.

Later life

* 1946: Fraser was awarded the American decoration of

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

, Degree of Officer. * 1947: Fraser left the Royal Navy, but he remained in the

. He set up a commercial diving firm. * 1953: He was promoted to lieutenant commander. * 1957: Fraser's

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

''Frogman VC'' was published. * 1957: He became a Justice of the Peace in

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic county bou ...

. * 16 August 1963: He was awarded a clasp to his Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve. * 18 December 1965: He left the Royal Naval Reserve. * 1980: He became a Younger Brother of

Trinity House The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond, also known as Trinity House (and formally as The Master, Wardens and Assistants of the Guild Fraternity or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity and of St Clement in the ...

. * 1993: He was made an honorary

freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

of the

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of (), and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebingt ...

. * 1 September 2008: Fraser died aged 87 at Arrowe Park Hospital, after a three-week illness. He was survived by his wife Melba, and 5 of his 6 children, and 13 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. He was cremated at

Landican Landican () is a hamlet and former civil parish on the outskirts of Birkenhead, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The hamlet is on the Wirral Peninsula, near to Woodchurch and the M53 motorway. Historically part of the ...

cemetery,

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

.
Grave Locations for holders of the Victoria Cross in the City of Liverpool.

Scuba diving

Realising that

-type diving (i.e. what is now called

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

) could do many sorts of underwater work unsuitable for the old-type heavy standard diving gear, he and some associates got hold of war-surplus frogman's kit and set up a popular public show displaying frogman techniques in a big

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

tank in Belle Vue Zoo in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. One of his early calls to underwater work was from the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

to recover the body of a little girl who had drowned in a pond in

Denton, Greater Manchester Denton is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, five miles (8 km) east of Manchester city centre. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Lancashire, it had a population of 36,591 at the 2011 Census. History Topo ...

. Using the show's takings, and with his younger brother Brian Fraser, he set up a commercial diving organisation called Universal Divers Ltd, of which he was

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

from 1947 to 1965 and, since 1983 (as former

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

). In January 1961 Universal Divers Ltd was involved in underwater survey on damage caused to the Severn Railway Bridge by collision by two

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

References

External links