Rear-Admiral Harold Bruce Farncomb, (28 February 1899 – 12 February 1971) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) who served in the First and Second World Wars, and as a lawyer. He was the first Australian-born RAN officer to reach a flag rank in the RAN. The Collins class submarine is named in his honour.
Early life Harold Farncomb was born in North Sydney, New South Wales on 28 February 1899, the second child of Frank Farncomb and Helen Louisa Farncomb, née Sampson. The family lived in Gordon on the north shore of Sydney. He attended Gordon Public School and Sydney Boys' High School before entering the Royal Australian Naval College (RANC) at age 13 in the RANC's first intake. Farncomb excelled academically at the RANC, graduating with very impressive scores and topped his final year (1916).Alan Zammit, 'Farncomb, Harold Bruce (1899–1971)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 14, Melbourne University Press, 1996, pp. 139–141. On completing his studies at the RANC he was promoted to midshipman on 1 January 1917 and left immediately on the steamer Naldera for training with the Royal Navy. Farncomb was stationed on board the battleship in April 1917.
Naval career
Farncomb served on Royal Sovereign until shortly after the end of World War I. On leaving Royal Sovereign Farncomb was promoted to sub-lieutenant and sent to on Whale Island for course training. After completing training at Whale Island Farncomb was transferred to Woolsher, a small craft attached to the destroyer force at the Firth of Forth. He then received his first posting in Australia; stationed on board for a year as a gunnery officer, this posting was followed by a year on the staff of Commodore Percy Addison, Commodore Commanding the Australia Squadron (CCAS).David Stevens, ed. 1996. The Royal Australian Navy in World War II. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. pp. 234–235 In May 1925, after a 10-month war staff course in the United Kingdom, he took a posting as a staff officer (operations) with the CCAS.
Naval career summary 1913 Royal Australian Naval College, Osborne House, Geelong, Victoria 1917 promoted midshipman (in UK) 1918 promoted sub-lieutenant (Whale Island, Hampshire) 1920 promoted lieutenant – awarded the maximum of five first-class certificates for his lieutenant's courses 1921 gunnery officer, (in Australia) 1922 intelligence officer, Commodore (Sir) Percy Addison's staff on the flagship, 1923 Royal Naval College, Greenwich 1925 staff officer (operations) to CCAS (Commodore Commanding the Australia Squadron) 1927 promoted lieutenant commander 1932 promoted commander 1933 executive officer, 1934 made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) 1935 Naval Intelligence Division at the Admiralty 1937 first RANC graduate to be promoted captain commander 1939 as commander, commissioned 1940 commander 1941 commander of the flagship , chief staff officer to Rear Admiral (Sir) John Crace 1942 Rear Admiral (Sir) Victor Crutchley replaced Crace 1943 made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). Citation: "For skill, resolution and coolness during operations in the Solomon Islands whilst commanding HMAS Australia" 1944 commander (in the Mediterranean) assumed command of the Australian Squadron as commodore first classcommodore commanding H.M.A. Squadron (Fleet) 1945 flag officer-in-charge, New South Wales commodore superintendent of training at Flinders Naval Depot, Westernport, Victoria made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) and awarded the Navy Cross and made a Commander of the Legion of Merit by the United States 1946 commodore commanding H.M.A. Squadron (Fleet) 1947 promoted rear admiral flag officer commanding H.M.A. Squadron (Fleet) 1950 head of the Australian Joint Services Staff in Washington 1951 retired from Navy
Post-military life
Farncomb left the service in 1951 and learned Latin to enable him to study for the Barristers' Admission Board examinations. Admitted to the Bar on 6 June 1958, he developed a reasonably busy practice in Sydney and subsequently joined the solicitors, Alfred Rofe & Sons. A street in the town of Narooma is named in Farncomb's honour.Australia's Argonauts: The remarkable story of the first class to enter the Royal Australian Naval College, Echo Books, Canberra, 2016, p.580
Heart disease eventually led to his retirement.
Personal life On 31 March 1927 at Trinity Congregational Church, Strathfield, Sydney, he married Jean Ross Nott; they were to remain childless. "Jean provided staunch support throughout the vicissitudes of her husband's career".
Retirement and death Survived by his wife, Farncomb died of heart failure on 12 February 1971 in St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, and was cremated with Anglican rites. His ashes were scattered at sea on 2 March from the flight deck of his last flagship, , off the coast of Western Australia.
References
External links
1956 portrait of RAdm Farncomb by Harold Abbott