Robin Durnford-Slater

Sir Robin Durnford-Slater
Birth name	Leonard Francis Slater
Born	9 July 1902 India
Died	28 June 1984 Chichester, Sussex, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1923 - 1961
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	HMS Hermes HMS Vernon HMS Gambia Nore Command
Battles/wars	World War II Suez Crisis
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Admiral Sir Robin (Leonard Francis) Durnford-Slater KCB (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 an Army Captain and his wife Constance Durnford Slater. His younger brother John became notable as the first British Commando.

Naval career

Durnford-Slater joined the Royal Navy in 1923.^[1]

He served in World War II, initially as Executive Officer on the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes which was sunk in 1942.^[2] He then joined the torpedo school HMS Vernon.^[3] He next became Senior Officer for the 42nd and the 7th Escort Group of Western Approaches Command.^[3] 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.^[3]

After the War he became Senior Officer for 1st Escort Flotilla in the Far East Fleet.^[3] He went on to be Commandant at the School of Amphibious Warfare and then Captain of the cruiser HMS Gambia.^[3] In 1953 he was made Deputy Controller of the Navy.^[3] He commanding the Naval Forces during Suez Crisis in 1956.^[4] After that he was made Flag Officer, Second in charge of the Mediterranean Fleet and then, from 1958, the last Commander-in-Chief, The Nore.^[3] He retired in 1961.^[3]

References