Lieutenant Francis Anthony Blair Fasson, G.C., Royal Navy. He died on Active Service at sea, aged 29, on the 30th October 1942. He had been born in Edinburgh and was the son of Captain Francis Fasson and Mrs Lilias Fasson of Lanton, Jedburgh.He had entered the Royal Navy College at Dartmouth in 1926 and joined the battleship H.M.S. “Rodney” as a midshipman in 1930. Over the next years he served in various ships and on the outbreak of War he was First Lieutenant in H.M.S. “Hostile” which took part in the first Battle of Narvik in April 1940. After further service on shore in Alexandria he was posted to the “Petard” as First Lieutenant. On 30th October 1942 his ship in conjunction with other vessels and a Sunderland flying boat attacked and badly damaged the German submarine U- 559. Lt. Fasson together with A.B. Colin Grazier entered the sinking submarine after it had been abandoned by its crew to capture instruments and documentation which included valuable code books fully aware of the dangers. Whilst they were handing over equipment the submarine suddenly sank like a stone taking both men to their deaths. Both were posthumously awarded the George Cross with the citation ! Awarded the George Cross for most conspicuous gallantry in carrying out hazardous work in a very brave manner”. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial. ( Photo of Lieutenant Fasson courtesy of J. D. Smith ).
