FAIRHOLME, Frederick Charles

b 1865 Wiesbaden Germany (naturalised British) his father was Scottish and mother a Bavarian baroness, and he spent part of his childhood in Austria.  He was an engineer, who in 1912 was living at Nether Hall, Hathersage, and later at Bakewell. He was a director of Davy Brothers, Sheffield, and Managing Director of Thomas Firth Ltd., Sheffield after the war, was an inventor and triple patentee between 1903-1920 of pyrometers and taps for armour plate. In his business, he travelled the world. Although not a serving member of our forces, according to the book “Six: The Real James Bonds“  by Michael Smith, he carried out spying operations for the Admiralty.

He warned the Admiralty of the German development of their armour piercing shells which resulted in the destruction of HMS Indefatigable in the Battle of Jutland. His wife FAIRHOLME, Marie Antoinette Marthe. was Commandant of Hathersage VAD Hospital, and his sister; FAIRHOLME, Mary Harriett Amelia Clara, was Assistant Commandant and Quartermaster. He died 24/12/1950 in Beaconsfield.