Necessity is the mother of invention, and William Ewart Fairbairn is an excellent example of that.
Hailing from Surrey, England, Fairbairn was only 15 when he knew he wanted to join the military. There was just one problem. He was underage.
However, somehow managing to convince his recruiter to lie for him, Fairbairn soon enlisted in the Royal Marines and was shipped off overseas to Korea, where he was quickly acquainted with combat.
To Shanghai
By 1907, the Marines decided that they didn’t need him in Korea anymore, and Fairbairn took a job with the International Police Force in Shanghai.
It was here that he would develop the techniques that would later be used by soldiers worldwide.
During the early 1900s, Shanghai was a hotbed of some of the most violent crime that the world had seen.
Kidnapping was a regular part of life, and the drug trade was booming. Adding to the chaos, knife-armed gangs roamed the streets, robbing or murdering whoever they felt like.
It was here that Fairbairn found himself in a situation in the red-light district.
A Bird of a Different Feather
Though he had quickly proven himself to be a formidable foe in Korea, Shanghai was different.
In Korea, not only was he armed to the teeth, but he had his buddies behind him. Here, he was a lone cop on the street in one of the most dangerous cities on earth.
In one of his first street fights against a gang, Fairbairn was both outnumbered and outmatched. He was beaten half to death, waking up battered in a hospital several days later. It was then that he decided that he needed to change some things.
Heavily devoting himself to martial arts and unconventional techniques, Fairbairn went on to revolutionize the world of police work.
New Ideas
To deal with hostage/kidnapping situations, Fairbairn created the concept of the SWAT team, sending five-man teams into buildings with ballistic vests and shields (that he homebrewed) and with a sniper serving as overwatch.
He developed new riot control methods, began writing books, and even crafted his own MMA-style conglomeration martial art that he called Defendu.
Shifting Gears
By the time World War II came around, Fairbairn was 50 years old and back in England.
His reputation was hard-earned; having fought in 600+ violent bouts of fisticuffs in China giving him the experience in close-quarters combat that the Allies sought.
An OSS agent, under the supervision of Fairbairn, fires at a dummy target that appeared around a blind curve in the “House of Horrors” training facility during World War 2. (Photo: U.S. National Park Service)
Knowing that their spies needed training of a particular flavor, both the British Strategic Operations Executive and the American Office of Strategic Services recruited him to teach their men how to kill up close, maneuver through house fighting, and more.
Fairbairn brought his innovative methods with him. During this time, he created the “House of Horrors” training method and also developed the fighting knife used by special forces units the world over – the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife.
You can read more on Fairbairn’s work in his fighting manual Get Tough.
This is a new style of article for Pew Pew Tactical, if you liked it — let us know in the comments! If you didn’t enjoy it…well phooey. To catch up on previous Pictures from History, click on over to our History Category.
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Correction on my post. I said I had studied Fairbains Defendu under Modern Combat. It was the SelfDefenceCompany.
William Fairbain was a badass! I have actually studied his Defendu tactics VIA Modern Warriors
A good choice for a short biography Aden. Fairbain certainly lived an interesting life and in interesting times and places. I would place him up there as one of the Fathers of Special Operations Combat, as he was instrumental in that discipline's adoption and growth, as well as co-developer of one bad-a$$ knife.
Keep 'em coming. I'm sure I'm not the only one who enjoys the articles.
Thanks, Chuck! Glad you liked it.
He definitely was an interesting dude. I always enjoy getting to delve into knife history, too. It's fun to see the thinking behind different blade designs. Such as with the Fairbyrn Sykes.
These asides from the usual posts are always enjoyed.
Thanks, Brian! I always enjoy writing them, so I'm thankful that you enjoy reading them!
Love it!
Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Mark! Glad you liked it.