Michael Le Fanu

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Michael Le Fanu, (2 August 1913 – 28 November 1970) was a Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Second World War as gunnery officer in a cruiser operating in the Home Fleet during the Norwegian campaign and the Battle of the Mediterranean and then as gunnery officer in a battleship operating in the Eastern Fleet before becoming liaison officer between the British Pacific Fleet and the United States Third Fleet. After the War he commanded a frigate, a training establishment and an aircraft carrier. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the late 1960s. In that role, in the face of economic difficulties, he worked hard to reshape the Navy as an anti-submarine force operating primarily in the Atlantic Ocean.

Early life Born the son of Captain Hugh Barrington Le Fanu RN (of Huguenot descent) and Georgiana Harriott Le Fanu (née Kingscote), Le Fanu was educated at Bedford School and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.

Naval career Le Fanu joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1926 and was posted to the cruiser in the Atlantic Fleet before being promoted to midshipman on 1 September 1931 and being posted to the cruiser HMS York. he joined the destroyer HMS Whitshed in the Mediterranean Fleet in March 1935 and was promoted to lieutenant on 1 June 1935. He was posted to the destroyer HMS Bulldog in the Home Fleet in September 1936 before training as a gunnery specialist during 1938 and then being posted to the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet.

Le Fanu served in the Second World War being posted to the cruiser operating in the Home Fleet as gunnery officer in December 1939. and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in November 1941 when an Italian convoy was destroyed during the Battle of the Mediterranean.

Promoted to lieutenant commander on 1 June 1942, Le Fanu joined the gunnery staff of the Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet that month and then transferred to the battleship operating as part of the Eastern Fleet as gunnery officer in March 1944. he was posted as liaison officer between the British Pacific Fleet and the United States Third Fleet in January 1945 and was awarded the United States Legion of Merit for his actions. He was also invited to attend the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender in the USS Missouri on 2 September 1945. and became Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord at the Admiralty. on appointment as Director-General, Weapons at the Admiralty. He became Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet in July 1960 and was promoted to vice admiral on 25 October 1961 on appointment as Controller of the Navy. Advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1963 Birthday Honours and promoted to full admiral on 29 September 1965, he became Commander-in-Chief, Middle East in December 1965. Le Fanu became First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in August 1968. on his retirement, and died in London on 28 November 1970.