The Honourable Frederick Osborne CMG, DSC & Bar, VRD |
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Member of the Australian Parliament for Evans |
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In office 10 December 1949 – 9 December 1961 |
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Preceded by | New seat |
Succeeded by | James Monaghan |
Personal details | |
Born |
Orange, New South Wales |
20 January 1909
Died | 23 July 1996 | (aged 87)
Nationality | Australian |
Political party | Liberal Party of Australia |
Spouse(s) | Elizabeth |
Alma mater | University of Sydney |
Occupation | Naval officer |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Australia |
Service/branch | Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve |
Years of service | 1938–1967 |
Rank | Commander |
Commands |
HMS Peacock (1945) HMS Vanquisher (1943–45) HMS Gentian (1941–43) |
Battles/wars | |
Awards |
Distinguished Service Cross & Bar Volunteer Reserve Decoration |
Frederick Meares Osborne CMG, DSC & Bar, VRD (20 January 1909 – 23 July 1996) was an Australian politician and government minister.
Osborne was born in Orange, New South Wales, and educated at North Sydney High School and Sydney Church of England Grammar School. He graduated with a degree in law from the University of Sydney. He joined the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1938, and with the outbreak of the Second World War, he was seconded to the Royal Navy in 1940. He was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross in 1940 for "bravery and devotion to duty" while assisting the evacuation of forces from Norway as a sub-lieutenant on the St Loman, an armed trawler. He then successively commanded HMS Gentian, HMS Vanquisher and HMS Peacock, escorting ships between the United States and Canada and the United Kingdom in the Battle of the Atlantic. He crossed the Atlantic 22 times and was the only Australian to rise to the command of a Royal Navy destroyer during the war. In 1945 a Bar was added to his DSC for sinking of a German U-boat.