Anthony Francis Fasson

H.M.S Petard

Francis Anthony Blair Fasson was born on 17 July 1913 in the village of Lanton, Roxburghshire. He was the 2nd son of Captain Francis Hamilton Fasson, a local Justice of the Peace and Head of the Red Cross, in the Home Guard and Lilias Clara Bruce Fasson of Lanton Tower. He also had an older brother James who, as Lieutenant Colonel of Lanarkshire Yeomanry, was captured in Singapore and held as a POW in Farmosa. Tony as he was known also had a sister Sheena, who was a VAD and a leading WRNS. At some point they lived at Westerloaning Ancrum. He attended Stubbington Preparatory School until 1926, when he entered the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. He rose through the ranks and in 1936 he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant.

Fasson saw action onboard HMS Hostile in 1939, at the first Battle of Narvik, which was part of the Norwegian Campaign, but it was whilst onboard HMS Petard on 30 October 1942, along with other British destroyers, in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea they pursued the German U-559. that his actions, along with two other colleagues, helped in breaking into possibly the most guarded secret of the Second World War

After spending nearly 16 hours being pursued and depth charged, U-559’s Commander took the decision to scuttle the submarine. As the remainder of his crew disembarked from the submarine, Lieutenant Fasson, Able Seaman Colin Grazier and Canteen Assistant Tommy Brown dived into the sea and swam to board it. With Tommy Brown remaining on top, both Fasson and Grazier went into the stricken submarine and retrieved an Enigma Machine, the Short Signal Weather Codes and the Short Signal Codebook. They passed these to Tommy and went back down again continuing to hand over documents and equipment until suddenly the vessel sank like a stone without warning and took both men to their deaths. The items that they managed to save were sent to Bletchley Park, who were able to use them to get back into SHARK, the German U-Boat Enigma.

Fallen in War - Francis Fasson, The Man Who Unknowingly Helped Break Enigma

This memorial plaque can be found in the church in the tiny village of Bedrule. Sir Winston Churchill is quoted as saying to King George VI that “It was thanks to ULTRA that we won the war”; ULTRA being the code name for all intelligence gleamed from the Enigma.

Both Fasson and Grazier were posthumously awarded the George Cross, while able seaman Brown was awarded the George Medal.

Francis Fasson’s George Cross medal is in the National War Museum, at Edinburgh Castle.