Admiral Sir Robin Leonard Francis Durnford-Slater KCB (born Leonard Francis Slater; 9 July 1902 – 28 June 1984) 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 who went on to be the last

Commander-in-Chief, The Nore The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the T ...

Early life

Born as Leonard Francis Slater in 1902 in the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

area of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

the son of

Leonard Slater Leonard Slater (11 October 1875 − 14 September 1914) was an English cricketer and British Army officer. He was born in Instow, Devon, the son of Rev. Francis Slater and Mrs. Harriet Slater. Slater spent some part of this life in the British ...

, a captain in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, and his wife Constance Durnford Slater. His younger brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

became notable as the first British Commando during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was educated at

Summer Fields School Summer Fields is a fee-paying boys' independent day and boarding preparatory school in Summertown, Oxford. It was originally called Summerfield and used to have a subsidiary school, Summerfields, St Leonards-on-Sea (known as "Summers mi"). H ...

Naval career

Durnford-Slater joined the

in 1923. He served in

, initially as Executive Officer on the aircraft carrier HMS ''Hermes'' which was sunk in 1942. He then joined the

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

school HMS ''Vernon''.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He next became Senior Officer for the 42nd and the 7th Escort Group of

Western Approaches Command Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches was the commander of a major operational command of the Royal Navy during World War II. The admiral commanding, and his forces, sometimes informally known as 'Western Approaches Command,' were responsibl ...

. 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 Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

. After the War he became Senior Officer for 1st Escort Flotilla in the

Far East Fleet The Far East Fleet (also called the Far East Station) was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1952 and 1971. During the Second World War, the Eastern Fleet included many ships and personnel from other navies, including those of the ...

. He went on to be Commandant at the School of Amphibious Warfare and then Captain of the cruiser HMS ''Gambia''. In 1953 he was made Deputy Controller of the Navy. As

Flag Officer, Air and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet The Flag Officer, Air and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet was a senior command appointment of the British Royal Navy from January 1947 to 1958 who also administered the 2nd Aircraft Carrier Squadron from 1947 to 1951. The appointment was a c ...

he commanded the naval forces, Task Force 345 north of the canal and Task Force 324 south of it from during the Suez Crisis, Musketeer, in 1956.Suez Crisis: Operation Musketeer
Riley, "Life and Campaigns of General Hughie Stockwell." From 1958, he was the last

. He retired in 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durnford-Slater, Robin 1902 births 1984 deaths Military personnel of British India British military personnel of the Suez Crisis Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Summer Fields School