The Lord Fraser of North Cape | |
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Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser on board HMS Duke of York at Guam
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Born |
Acton, England |
5 February 1888
Died | 12 February 1981 London, England |
(aged 93)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/branch | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1904–1951 |
Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
Commands held |
First Sea Lord British Pacific Fleet Eastern Fleet Home Fleet |
Battles/wars | |
Awards |
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands) Order of Suvorov (Soviet Union) Legion d'Honneur (France) Croix de Guerre (France) Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (Norway) Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark) Navy Distinguished Service Medal (United States) |
First World War
Russian Civil War
Second World War
Admiral of the Fleet Bruce Austin Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape, GCB, KBE (5 February 1888 – 12 February 1981) was a senior Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World War and saw action during the Gallipoli Campaign and took part in the internment of the German High Seas Fleet at the end of the War. He also served in the Second World War initially as Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy and then as Second-in-Command and afterwards as Commander of the Home Fleet, leading the force that destroyed the German battleship Scharnhorst. He went on to be First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in which role he assisted in establishing NATO and agreed to the principle that the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic should be an American admiral, in the face of fierce British opposition.
Born the son of General Alexander Fraser CB and Monica Stores Fraser (née Smith), Fraser was educated at Bradfield College. He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship HMS Britannia in September 1902 and passed out as a midshipman in the battleship HMS Hannibal in the Channel Fleet on 15 January 1904. He transferred to the battleship HMS Prince George in the Channel Fleet in February 1905 and, having been promoted to sub-lieutenant on 15 March 1907, he joined the battleship HMS Triumph in May 1907. He moved to the destroyer HMS Gypsy in September 1907 and, having been promoted to lieutenant on 15 March 1908, he joined the cruiser HMS Lancaster in the Mediterranean Fleet.