William Ewart Fairbairn (1885-1960) was a soldier, police officer, and exponent of hand-to-hand combat methods for the Shanghai police between the World Wars, and allied special forces in World War II. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was by far the bloodiest and most expensive war in history, estimated...

He served with the Royal Marine Light Infantry starting in 1901. After joining the Shanghai Municipal Police in 1907, he studied Judo and then Chinese martial arts, developed his own fighting system, and taught it to members of that police force in order to reduce officer fatalities. He described this system as primarily based on his personal experience, which according to police records included some 600 non-training fights, by his retirement at age 55 from the position of Assistant Commissioner in 1940. Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; pinyin: ; Shanghainese IPA: ), situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is Chinas largest city. ... Judo (Japanese: 柔道 Jūdō; literally gentle way) is a martial art, a sport and a philosophy which originated in Japan. ... Chinese martial arts, often abbreviated as CMA, refers to the enormous variety of martial art styles native to China. ...

He was recruited by the British Secret Service as an Army officer; he trained both U.K., U.S. and Canadian Commando and Ranger forces and those who would train them. The British Commandos were first formed by the Army in June 1940 during World War II as a well-armed but unregimented raider force employing unconventional and irregular tactics to assault, disrupt and reconnoitre the enemy in mainland Europe and Scandinavia. ... Official force name 75th Ranger Regiment Rangers Other names Airborne Rangers Army Rangers Task Force Ranger U.S. Army Rangers Branch U.S. Army Chain of Command USASOC Description Special Operations Force, rapidly deployable light infantry force. ...

He rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel by the end of World War II, and received the U.S. Legion of Merit at the request of "Wild Bill" Donovan, founder of the U.S. O.S.S. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was by far the bloodiest and most expensive war in history, estimated... William Donovan William Joseph Donovan (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) was born in Buffalo, New York on New Years Day, 1883, and is best remembered today as wartime head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). ... The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime (but not direct) precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency. ...

He is known for designing the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife which was used by British Special Forces in World War II, and for his textbook Scientific Self-Defence.

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