Commodore John Fairbairn (12 March 1912 – 20 March 1984) was a South African Naval officer. Fairbairn was born in

Plumstead, Cape Town Plumstead is a residential suburb situated in the Southern Suburbs region of Cape Town, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. History Plumstead was first mentioned when, in 1762, a large portion of the land beyond the Constantia Valley ...

. After being educated at

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established o ...

Rondebosch Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with shopping and business districts as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town. History Four years after the first Dutch ...

, he started working at the

Standard Bank Standard Bank (officially Standard Bank Group Limited) is the largest bank in Africa, as well as the continent's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is located in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The ...

in 1930. He joined the

Royal Navy Volunteer 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 ...

(RNVR) on 1 July 1929 on a part-time basis while still working at the bank until the start of

World War II 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 ...

, when he signed up to the

South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prote ...

full-time on 4 September 1939 and was promoted to lieutenant on 12 November the same year. On 1 May 1946, he joined the SA Navy Permanent Force and was given the rank of lieutenant-commander. On 4 January 1948 while in command of the HMSAS ''Transvaal'', the Marion and Prince Edward islands were annexed from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. He commanded the SAS ''President Steyn'' before being appointed naval officer in charge (NoiC) of the Simon's Town Naval Base. Fairbairn retired in 1972 and died in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

in March 1984.

Awards and decorations

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Notes

References

1912 births 1984 deaths Alumni of Diocesan College, Cape Town South African admirals Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel South African military personnel of World War II South African people of Scottish descent {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub