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
AllegianceUnited Kingdom 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

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.

Early life

Born as Leonard Francis Slater in 1902 in the Punjab area of India the son of Leonard Slater, a captain in the British Army, and his wife Constance Durnford Slater. His younger brother John became notable as the first British Commando during World War II.[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] As Flag Officer, Air and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet he commanded the naval forces, Task Force 345 north of the canal and Task Force 324 south of it from HMS Tyne[8] during the Suez Crisis, Musketeer, in 1956.[9] From 1958, he was 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  8. ↑ "SUEZ WAR OF 1956". Godfreydykes.info. 5 November 1956. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  9. ↑ Suez Crisis: Operation Musketeer; Riley, "Life and Campaigns of General Hughie Stockwell."
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