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While working for S.J. David & Co., his experience in sharpshooting and his personal friendship with
Fairbairn led him to form and oversee a team of civilian and police snipers for the SMP. He became the head of this unit in 1937, working part-time in this capacity until he resigned this position
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method. Nevertheless, this was the last time the pair worked together in any capacity; by mid-1942 the pair's friendship had split, with Sykes claiming that
Fairbairn treated him as an inferior. Soon thereafter, Fairbairn travelled to Canada to teach armed and unarmed combat to commandos and covert
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While teaching at Camp X, Sykes reputedly ended every self-defence lecture with his trademark phrase "and then, kick him in the testicles" as this method ensures that regardless of the effectiveness of the given tactic used, the assailant would be at least moderately incapacitated.
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in 1939. In 1940, Fairbairn resigned from the
Shanghai Municipal Police and returned to Britain, with Sykes following. The pair had apparently planned this, since they shipped crates full of illegal weapons from lax Shanghai into Britain on their boat. He joined the British
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in 1907 while working for Reiss & Co. He met
Fairbairn in 1919, then with the Shanghai Municipal Police (SMP), beginning their famous professional association. In 1923 Sykes was working for the China & Japan Trading Co. as China representative for
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54:. Originally working for an import/export company selling weapons in East Asia, he claimed he volunteered for and served in the British Army as a sharpshooter on the Western Front during
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and by 1901 was working as a clerk for the county council. The reasons for his name change in 1917 were said to be that he found it "too
Germanic". A
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After training special forces units throughout 1940, the two were finally commissioned into the
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agents at the various
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due to disability on 6 April 1945 he was allowed to retain the honorary rank of
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England & Wales, Index of Births, March
Quarter 1883, Barton, Lancashire
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where his father worked as a cotton trader. He grew up at No. 40 Marlowes,
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38:, was a soldier and firearms expert. He is most famous for his work with
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Fairbairn and Sykes were both commissioned as second lieutenants on the
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58:. Returning to China in 1917, he joined the volunteer branch of the
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E.A. Sykes: The forgotten hero of
Combatives by Phil Matthews
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W E Fairbairn: Gentleman & Warrior: The
Shanghai Years
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1901 Census of
England & Wales, Hemel Hempstead, p. 28
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1891 Census of England & Wales, Bromley, Kent, p. 4
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373:(2005). First biography on Fairbairn. By Peter Robins.
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429:British Special Operations Executive personnel
186:Relinquishing his commission in the rank of
289:(Supplement). 10 January 1941. p. 237.
389:Genealogy site for Eric A. (Schwabe) Sykes
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309:(Supplement). 3 April 1945. p. 1838.
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74:Sykes was born Eric Anthony Schwabe in
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384:Sykes-Fairbairn fighting knife history
345:Shooting to Live with the One-Hand Gun
34:(5 February 1883 – 12 May 1945), born
327:The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
42:in the development of the eponymous
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424:British Army General List officers
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173:Special Operations Executive (SOE)
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19:For Eric Sykes the comedian, see
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62:(SMP) Specials with the rank of
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121:Special Operations Executive
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177:joint UK/US Jedburgh teams
167:agents of the Americas at
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50:(CQB) martial arts during
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60:Shanghai Municipal Police
48:Close Quarters Battle
224:William E. Fairbairn
154:of 1941. Their book
40:William E. Fairbairn
36:Eric Anthony Schwabe
16:British army officer
46:and modern British
306:The London Gazette
286:The London Gazette
76:Barton-upon-Irwell
32:Eric Anthony Sykes
339:978-1-444-79895-1
143:on 15 July 1940.
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52:World War II
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414:1945 deaths
409:1883 births
331:John Murray
301:"No. 37016"
281:"No. 35040"
197:He died at
181:Milton Hall
56:World War I
403:Categories
240:References
219:Combatives
125:Lochailort
70:Background
21:Eric Sykes
109:Remington
92:Sevenoaks
66:in 1926.
64:Inspector
329:, 2016,
213:See also
104:Shanghai
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203:England
188:Captain
150:on the
88:Cologne
84:England
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169:Camp X
192:Major
29:Major
359:ISBN
335:ISBN
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