Bill King

British naval officer, yachtsman, author

Died when: 102 years 90 days (1226 months)
Star Sign: Cancer

 

Commander William Donald Aelian King, DSO & Bar, DSC (23 June 1910 – 21 September 2012) was a British naval officer, yachtsman and author.He was the oldest participant in the first solo non-stop, around-the-world yacht race, the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, and the only person to command a British submarine on both the first and last days of World War II.

Brought up by his mother and grandmother, King went to the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth.He was first assigned to the battleship Resolution, and later became commanding officer of the submarine Snapper.

He served on three separate vessels in World War II, and was promoted to commander and awarded seven medals during the war.

King not only survived World War II, but succeeded in a singlehanded circumnavigation in 1973 on his third attempt.During the latter journey, he managed to reach port despite a collision with a large sea creature 400 miles (640 km) southwest of Australia.

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