Eric Anthony Sykes (5 February 1883–12 May 1945), born Eric Anthony Schwabe, is most famous for his work with William E. Fairbairn in the development of the eponymous Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife and modern British Close Quarters Battle (CQB) martial arts during World War II. Originally working for an import/export company selling weapons in East Asia, he apparently volunteered for, and served in, the British Army as a sharpshooter on the Western Front during the Great War. Returning to China in 1917, he joined the Shanghai Municipal Police (SMP) volunteer Specials as an inspector in 1926.
Reputedly born in Barton on Irwell, the reasons for his name change in 1917 were said to be because he found it "too Germanic". A shikari hunter, he was an avid rifleman and an expert with the pistol, later going on to oversee a team of civilian and police snipers while a member of the SMP volunteers. During the 1920s Sykes met Fairbairn, beginning their famous professional association. In 1940, Fairbairn resigned from the Shanghai Police and returned to Britain, with Sykes following, and the two were soon commissioned into the British Army on the General List in 1941. Their 1942 book Shooting to Live is considered by many the classic text of combat pistol, and one of the best codifications of the high-stress point shooting method, but it was the last time the pair worked together in any capacity. By mid-1942 the pair's friendship had split; Sykes claiming that Fairbairn treated him as an inferior. Soon thereafter, Sykes travelled to Canada to teach armed and unarmed combat to commandos and covert agents of the Americas. Attaining the rank of Major, he died at Bexhill-on-Sea, England.
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Chronology
- 1883: Born Eric Anthony Schwabe, 5 February, Barton-on-Irwell.
- 1907: First arrives in Shanghai, working for Reiss & Co
- 1917: Changes his name to Eric Anthony Sykes
- 1919: Met William E. Fairbairn, then with the Shanghai Municipal Police
- 1923: Worked for the China & Japan Trading Co, China representative for Remington and Colt
- 1926: Joined the Shanghai Municipal Police as an officer in the reserve
- 1929: Moved to S.J. David & Co, where he worked until his departure from China
- 1937: Worked part-time for S.J. David & Co, part-time as head of SMP sniper unit
- 1939: Joined the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS - MI6), before leaving China
- 1939: Worked with SIS at Special Training Centre in Lochailort, Scotland
- 1942: Shooting to Live published
- 1945: Dies 12 May 1945, at Bexhill-on-Sea, England
Books
Shooting to Live with the One-Hand Gun by Captain William E. Fairbairn and Captain Eric Anthony Sykes. 1942. Reprint ISBN 0-87364-027-6
- W E Fairbairn Gentleman & Warrior The Shanghai Years(2005) First biography on Fairbairn. By Peter Robins
See also
External links
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