Ian Edward Fraser

lan Edward Fraser (VC, DSC, RD & Bar) is an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Details

He was 24 years old, and a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 31 July 1945 in the Johore Straits, Singapore, Lieutenant Fraser, in command of HM Midget Submarine XE.3, went to attack the Japanese cruiser Takao, which was located after a long and hazardous journey. Lieutenant Fraser slid the submarine under the target which lay over a depression in the sea bed, and his diver (James Joseph Magennis) went out to fix the limpet mines to the bottom of the ship. The two side-charges then had to be released, but the starboard charge stuck and the diver climbed out again and after a nerve-wracking five minutes released the charge. XE3 then made for home.

He is a living recipient. He later achieved the rank of Lieutenant-Commander.

please update if you know where his medal is publicly displayed

After WWII

He realized that frogman-type diving (i.e. what is now called scuba diving) could do many sorts of underwater work that old-type heavy standard diving gear is unsuitable for. He and some associates got hold of war-surplus frogman's kit and set up a public show displaying frogman techniques in a big aquarium tank in Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester in England. This display was popular, and he used the show's takings to set up a commercial diving organization called Underwaterwork. One of his early calls was from the police to recover a little girl's body who had drowned in a pond in Denton, Greater Manchester.

Reference

• British VCs of World War 2 (John Laffin, 1997)
• Monuments To Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• SCOTLAND'S FORgotten VALOUR (Graham Ross, 1995)

External links

• & Magennis Ian Fraser

This page has been migrated from the Victoria Cross Reference with permission.