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William Fairbairn – Born
February 28, 2021
William E. Fairbairn
February 28, 1885 – June 20, 1960
- 1901 – British Royal Marine
- Police Officer
- 1907 – Shanghai Police during the interwar period
- 1941 – Trained allied special forces during World War II
- Received the U.S. Legion of Merit (Officer grade)
at the request of OSS-founder “Wild Bill” Donovan - 1951 – Firearms Instructor
Developed hand-to-hand combat methods
1926 – Created his own fighting system known as Defendu
included innovative pistol shooting techniques
1941 – Developed the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife