Frederick Parham

Admiral Sir Frederick Robertson Parham, GBE, KCB, DSO^[2] (9 January 1901 – 20 March 1991) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, The Nore.

Admiral Sir Frederick Parham GBE KCB DSO
Born	9 January 1901 Bath, Somerset, England
Died	20 March 1991(1991-03-20) (aged 90)[1] Chichester, West Sussex, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1913–1959
Rank	Admiral
Commands	HMS Shikari HMS Gurkha HMS Belfast HMS Vanguard Nore Command
Battles / wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order

Naval career

Educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne, and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth,^[3] Parham joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1913.^[4] He served in World War I as a midshipman on HMS Malaya.^[4] In 1937 he was given command of HMS Shikari.^[4]

He saw active service in the Second World War as Captain of the destroyer HMS Gurkha, which was sunk by enemy action in 1940.^[5] From 1942 he had command of the cruiser HMS Belfast which remains permanently moored as a museum ship in London.^[4]

After the War Parham commanded the battleship HMS Vanguard and then, in 1949 became Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel.^[4] He was made Flag Officer (Flotillas) and Second in Command of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1951 and Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Supplies and Transport in 1954.^[4] Finally he was made Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, in 1955.^[4] He retired in 1959.^[4]

In retirement Parham chaired a Parliamentary Committee on Inland Waterways.^[6]

Family

In 1926, he married Kathleen Dobrée; they had one son.^[3] Following the death of his first wife, he married Joan Charig Saunders in 1978.^[3]