William Ewart Fairbairn (28 February, 1885–20 June, 1960) was a British soldier, police officer and exponent of hand-to-hand combat method, the
close combat*Close combat is a generic term for both Close Quarters Battle and Hand to hand combat.*Mêlée generally refers to disorganized close combat.*CQB is an acronym for Close Quarters Battle, such as that which occurs in urban warfare....
, for the
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
Police between the
world warA world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
s, and allied special forces in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He developed his own fighting system known as
DefenduDefendu is a modern martial art developed by William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes prior to World War II. It is a hand-to-hand combat system based on practical experience mixed with jujutsu and boxing that was developed to train the Shanghai Municipal Police, and was later taught in expanded form...
, as well as other weapons tactics. Notably, this included innovative pistol shooting techniques and the development of the
Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting KnifeThe Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife is a double-edged fighting knife resembling a dagger or poignard with a foil grip developed by William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes in Shanghai based on concepts which the two men initiated before World War II while serving on the Shanghai Municipal...
.
The television series
Secrets of War suggested him as a possible inspiration for Q branch in
James BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
.
Military career
Fairbairn served with the Royal Marine
Light InfantryTraditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
starting in 1901, and joined the
Shanghai Municipal PoliceThe Shanghai Municipal Police was the police force of the Shanghai Municipal Council which governed the Shanghai International Settlement between 1854 and 1943, when the settlement was retroceded to Chinese control....
(SMP) in 1907. During his service with the International Police in Shanghai, Fairbairn reportedly engaged in hundreds of street fights in the course of his duties over a twenty-year career, where he organised and headed a special anti-riot squad. Much of his body, arms, legs, torso, even the palms of his hands, was covered with scars from knife wounds from those fights. Fairbairn later created, organised and trained a special anti-riot squad for the Shanghai police force, as well as developing numerous firearms training courses and items of police equipment, including a special metal-lined bulletproof vest designed to stop high-velocity bullets from the 7.63x25mm Mauser pistol.
During World War II, he was recruited by the British Secret Service as an
Army officerThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, where he was given the nickname "Dangerous Dan". Together with fellow close-combat instructor Eric Sykes, Fairbairn was commissioned on the General List in 1941. He trained British, American and
CanadianCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
CommandoThe British Commandos were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe...
forces, along with Ranger candidates in close-combat, pistol-shooting and knife-fighting techniques. Fairbairn emphasised the necessity of forgetting any idea of gentlemanly conduct or fighting fair: "Get tough, get down in the gutter, win at all costs... I teach what is called ‘Gutter Fighting.’ There’s no fair play, no rules except one:
kill or be killed,” he declared.
For his achievements in training
OSS-Science and technology:* Open-source software* Open Sound System, a standard interface for making and capturing sound in Unix operating systems* Open Search Server, search engine software...
personnel, Fairbairn eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel by the end of the war, and received the U.S.
Legion of MeritThe Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
(Officer grade) at the specific request of "Wild Bill" Donovan, founder of the U.S.
O.S.SThe Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
.
Martial arts
After joining the SMP, he studied
boxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, traditional
jujutsuJujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
and then
Chinese martial artsChinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...
. He developed his own
fighting systemCombatives is a United States Army term for hand-to-hand combat training and techniques.-History:Militaries have long taught unarmed combat, both as physical conditioning and as a supplement to armed combat. Among the samurai of Japan, such combatives were known as Bujutsu...
—
DefenduDefendu is a modern martial art developed by William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes prior to World War II. It is a hand-to-hand combat system based on practical experience mixed with jujutsu and boxing that was developed to train the Shanghai Municipal Police, and was later taught in expanded form...
—and taught it to members of that police force in order to reduce officer fatalities. He described this system as primarily based on his personal experience, which according to police records included some 600 non-training fights, by his retirement at age 55 from the position of Assistant Commissioner in 1940.
Weapons innovations
Together with
Eric A. SykesEric Anthony Sykes , born Eric Anthony Schwabe in Barton on Irwell, Manchester, England. He is most famous for his work with William E. Fairbairn in the development of the eponymous Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife and modern British Close Quarters Battle martial arts during World War II...
he developed innovative pistol shooting techniques and handgun specifications for the SMP which were later disseminated through their book
Shooting To Live With The One-Hand Gun (1942), along with various other police innovations such as riot batons, armoured vests and other equipment.
He is perhaps best known for designing the famous
Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knifeThe Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife is a double-edged fighting knife resembling a dagger or poignard with a foil grip developed by William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes in Shanghai based on concepts which the two men initiated before World War II while serving on the Shanghai Municipal...
, or '
CommandoThe British Commandos were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe...
' knife, a razor-sharp stilletto-style fighting
daggerA dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...
used by
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Special Forces in the Second World War, and featured in his textbook
Scientific Self-Defence. Fairbairn also designed the lesser known
SmatchetA Smatchet is a short, heavy fighting knife/sword in overall length . It was designed by knife fighting expert and instructor Capt. William E...
, and collaborated on the design of several other combat knife designs.
Publications
- Defendu, first published in 1926 in Shanghai by the North China Daily News & Herald Ltd. Size 7” X 10”, hardcover, cloth bound with 171 pages.
- Scientific Self-Defence, first published in 1931 by D. Appleton and Company New York & London. Size 6 ½” X 9 ½”, in hardcover with 165 pages. A slightly modified/updated version of Defendu.
- All-In Fighting, first published in 1942 by Faber and Faber Limited London. Size 5 ½” X 8 ¼” in hardcover with 132 pages.
- Get Tough, first published in 1942 by D. Appleton-Century Company New York & London. Size 5 ½” X 7 ¾” in softcover with 121 pages. This is a modified version of All-In Fighting for the American market. Note the first edition has Fairbairn’s rank as ‘Captain’ all subsequent (1940's) editions as ‘Major’.
- Self Defence for Women and Girls, first published in 1942 by Faber and Faber London. Size 5 ½” X 8” softcover with 48 pages.
- Hands Off! (Self Defence for Women and Girls), first published in 1942 by D. Appleton-Century Company New York & London. Size 5 ¼” X 8” in softcover with 41 pages. This is a modified version of Self Defence for Women and Girls for the American market.
- Shooting to Live, co-authored by Eric Anthony Sykes, first published in 1942 by Oliver and Boyd London England. Size 4 ¾” X 7" in hardcover with 96 pages.
See also
- Close combat
*Close combat is a generic term for both Close Quarters Battle and Hand to hand combat.*Mêlée generally refers to disorganized close combat.*CQB is an acronym for Close Quarters Battle, such as that which occurs in urban warfare....
- Combatives
Combatives is a United States Army term for hand-to-hand combat training and techniques.-History:Militaries have long taught unarmed combat, both as physical conditioning and as a supplement to armed combat. Among the samurai of Japan, such combatives were known as Bujutsu...
- Defendu
Defendu is a modern martial art developed by William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes prior to World War II. It is a hand-to-hand combat system based on practical experience mixed with jujutsu and boxing that was developed to train the Shanghai Municipal Police, and was later taught in expanded form...
- Camp X
Camp X was the unofficial name of a Second World War paramilitary and commando training installation, on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario between Whitby and Oshawa in Ontario, Canada...
- Applegate-Fairbairn fighting knife
The Applegate-Fairbairn Fighting Knife is a Combat knife that was designed by Colonel Rex Applegate and William E. Fairbairn as an improved version of the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife...
External links