| Harold Bruce Farncomb | |
| Birth Date: | 28 February 1899 |
| Birth Place: | North Sydney, New South Wales |
| Death Place: | Darlinghurst, New South Wales |
| Nickname: | Uncle Hal, Fearless Frank |
| Allegiance: | Australia |
| Branch: | Royal Australian Navy |
| Serviceyears: | 1912–1951 |
| Rank: | Rear Admiral |
| Commands: | HM Australian Squadron (1944–45, 1946–49) (1944) (1941–44) (1940–41) (1939–40) (1937–38) |
| Battles: | |
| Awards: | Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Member of the Royal Victorian Order Mentioned in Despatches (3) Navy Cross (United States) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) |
| Laterwork: | Barrister and solicitor |
Rear Admiral Harold Bruce Farncomb (28 February 1899 – 12 February 1971) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) who served in the First and Second World Wars, and as a lawyer. He was the first Australian-born RAN officer to reach a flag rank in the RAN.[1] The Collins class submarine is named in his honour.
Harold Farncomb was born in North Sydney, New South Wales on 28 February 1899, the second child of Frank Farncomb and Helen Louisa Farncomb, née Sampson. The family lived in Gordon on the north shore of Sydney. He attended Gordon Public School and Sydney Boys' High School before entering the Royal Australian Naval College (RANC) at age 13 in the RANC's first intake. Farncomb excelled academically at the RANC, graduating with very impressive scores and topped his final year (1916).[2] On completing his studies at the RANC he was promoted to midshipman on 1 January 1917 and left immediately on the steamer Naldera for training with the Royal Navy. Farncomb was stationed on board the battleship in April 1917.
Farncomb served on Royal Sovereign until shortly after the end of World War I. On leaving Royal Sovereign Farncomb was promoted to sub-lieutenant and sent to on Whale Island for course training. After completing training at Whale Island Farncomb was transferred to Woolsher, a small craft attached to the destroyer force at the Firth of Forth. He then received his first posting in Australia; stationed on board for a year as a gunnery officer, this posting was followed by a year on the staff of Commodore Percy Addison, Commodore Commanding the Australia Squadron (CCAS).[3] In May 1925, after a 10-month war staff course in the United Kingdom, he took a posting as a staff officer (operations) with the CCAS.
| 1913 | Royal Australian Naval College, Osborne House, Geelong, Victoria | |
| 1917 | promoted midshipman | |
| (in UK) | ||
| 1918 | promoted sub-lieutenant | |
| (Whale Island, Hampshire) | ||
| 1920 | promoted lieutenant – awarded the maximum of five first-class certificates for his lieutenant's courses | |
| 1921 | gunnery officer, (in Australia) | |
| 1922 | intelligence officer, Commodore (Sir) Percy Addison's staff on the flagship, | |
| 1923 | Royal Naval College, Greenwich | |
| 1925 | staff officer (operations) to CCAS (Commodore Commanding the Australia Squadron) | |
| 1927 | promoted lieutenant commander | |
| 1932 | promoted commander | |
| 1933 | executive officer, | |
| 1934 | made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) | |
| 1935 | Naval Intelligence Division at the Admiralty | |
| 1937 | first RANC graduate to be promoted captain | |
| commander | ||
| 1939 | as commander, commissioned | |
| 1940 | commander | |
| 1941 | commander of the flagship, chief staff officer to Rear Admiral (Sir) John Crace | |
| 1942 | Rear Admiral (Sir) Victor Crutchley replaced Crace | |
| 1943 | made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). Citation: "For skill, resolution and coolness during operations in the Solomon Islands whilst commanding HMAS Australia" | |
| 1944 | commander (in the Mediterranean) | |
| assumed command of the Australian Squadron as commodore first class commodore commanding H.M.A. Squadron (Fleet) | ||
| 1945 | flag officer-in-charge, New South Wales | |
| commodore superintendent of training at Flinders Naval Depot, Westernport, Victoria | ||
| made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) and awarded the Navy Cross and made a Commander of the Legion of Merit by the United States | ||
| 1946 | commodore commanding H.M.A. Squadron (Fleet) | |
| 1947 | promoted rear admiral | |
| flag officer commanding H.M.A. Squadron (Fleet) | ||
| 1950 | head of the Australian Joint Services Staff in Washington | |
| 1951 | retired from Navy |
Farncomb left the service in 1951 and learned Latin to enable him to study for the Barristers' Admission Board examinations. Admitted to the Bar on 6 June 1958, he developed a reasonably busy practice in Sydney and subsequently joined the solicitors, Alfred Rofe & Sons.[2] A street in the town of Narooma is named in Farncomb's honour.[4]
Heart disease eventually led to his retirement.
On 31 March 1927 at Trinity Congregational Church, Strathfield, Sydney, he married Jean Ross Nott; they were to remain childless. "Jean provided staunch support throughout the vicissitudes of her husband's career".[2]
Survived by his wife, Farncomb died of heart failure on 12 February 1971 in St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, and was cremated with Anglican rites. His ashes were scattered at sea on 2 March from the flight deck of his last flagship,, off the coast of Western Australia.[5]