Rear-Admiral Sir David William Haslam (26 June 1923 – 4 August 2009) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer. David Haslam was born in

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and educated at Ashe Preparatory School,

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and, from 1936, at

Bromsgrove School Bromsgrove School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmaste ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

(from 1939 the school was evacuated to

Llanwrtyd Wells Llanwrtyd Wells ( cy, Llanwrtyd "church of St Gwrtud") is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire) on the Afon Irfon. The town is on the A483 between Llandovery and Builth Wells and is ...

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). He joined the

as a Special Entry Cadet in 1941. He saw service in the cruiser , in the destroyer and in the battleship , in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

, between 1942 and 1943. In 1944 he specialised in hydrographic surveying and joined for surveys in waters off

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and Malaya between 1944 and 1946. He was in command of Survey Motor Launch 325 in 1947 and then spent two years on exchange service with the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

from 1947 to 1949. This was followed by service in the surveying vessel from 1949 to 1951 and her sister ship 1951–53. After a period in command of the Royal Navy Survey Training Unit at Chatham from 1953 to 1956, as a

Lieutenant-Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

, he was First Lieutenant of the new survey vessel until 1957. Promoted to commander at the age of 34, he then had a succession of survey ship commands: in 1958, 1958-60 and 1962–64, the period from 1960 to 1962 being spent in the Admiralty. He was appointed OBE in 1964. He was then appointed, in 1964, as the Executive Officer of , the Royal Naval Barracks in Chatham, later serving as Hydrographer of the

from 1965 to 1967, during which time he was promoted to captain. Back in the United Kingdom, he took command of the new survey vessel from 1968 to 1970 before becoming Assistant Hydrographer of the Navy in the Ministry of Defence, from 1970 to 1972. His final sea command - his sixth - was from March 1972 to 1973. While in charge of surveys in the Persian Gulf, he discovered a series of coral pinnacles now known and charted as Haslam's Patche

He was then an assistant director in the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Hydrographic Department at

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, from 1973 to 1974 and, in 1975, he undertook the Senior Officers' War Course. Promoted

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

on 7 July 1975, he became head of his branch when he took up the historic appointment of Hydrographer of the Navy in September 1975, a position he held, exceptionally, for ten years. He retired from the

in 1985, after 44 years' service. In retirement, he was busy as

Acting Conservator of the River Mersey The Acting Conservator of the River Mersey is a unique position. The holder is responsible for ensuring navigation on, and protecting the environment of, the River Mersey in the North West of England. The Conservator originally acted on behalf o ...

from 1985 to 1987 and as an adviser on Port Appointments to the

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from 1986 to 1987. He was President of the Directing Committee of the

International Hydrographic Bureau The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...

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, from 1987 to 1992. He was President of the Hydrographic Society from 1977 to 1979. He was a Governor of his old school,

, from 1977 to 1997 and, unmarried, he lived literally across the road from the School, in Worcester Road, for many years, and it was at home that he died peacefully. He was President of the English Schools Basketball Association from 1973 to 1996 and President of Derbyshire County Cricket Club from 1991 to 1992. He was a Liveryman of the

Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors The Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation was granted Letters Patent in May 1977. The Company promotes surveying by awarding scholarships. The Company ranks eighty-fi ...

from 1983, serving also as President of the Land Surveyors Division of the RICS, and also a

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, FRICS, FRIN and

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. The funeral took place at

chapel on 21 August 2009 followed by a cremation at Redditch Crematorium. A memorial service was held on Friday 12 March 2010 at

chapel.

Articles

* Haslam, David. 1983. "Why a Hydrographic Office?" International Hydrographic Review LXII (1): 7 – 16.

Obituaries

Derby Telegraph The ''Derby Telegraph'', formerly the ''Derby Evening Telegraph'', is a daily tabloid newspaper distributed in the Derby area of England. Stories produced by the Derby Telegraph team are published online under the Derbyshire Live brand. Histor ...

br>14 August 2009
*

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

br>18 August 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haslam, David W 1923 births 2009 deaths Admirals and Generals from Worcestershire Companions of the Order of the Bath English hydrographers Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Hydrographers of the Royal Navy Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Bromsgrove School Military personnel from Derby Royal Navy rear admirals Royal Navy officers of World War II