Background
Lakin survived a car accident which claimed his father at the age of eight.
Industrialist chairman of Vickers Armstrong
Lakin survived a car accident which claimed his father at the age of eight.
He graduated from Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in 1932 and joined the cruiser HMS Sussex.
He transferred to submarines, initially joining HMS Narwhal and in 1938 HMS Ursula as navigating officer He was due to transfer to the new submarine HMS Thetis but this appointment was cancelled before her loss in an accident on 1 June 1939. On the outbreak of was Lakin transferred to HMS H32 and then to HMS Utmost in November 1940 serving in the Mediterranean.
Returning to Britain, Lakin was given command of HMS H43 in December 1941 and was then given command of the Ursula in March 1942.
HMS Ursula was based in Malta as part of the 10th submarine squadron which was charged with interdicting Axis supply convoys to North Africa. Lakin was given command of the South-class submarine HMS Safari in April 1943 and undertook four war patrols.
His boat acted as a navigation beacon for United States forces during the Invasion of Sicily and sunk several vessels. Lakin was appointed as a liaison officer with the United States Navy in 1943 and undertook several patrols on American submarines in the Pacific.
Lakin"s final naval mission was to look after surrendered U-Boats in Londonderry, Northern Ireland at the end of the war.
Lakin joined Vickers-Armstrongs in 1946 as an engineer, eventually becoming Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In 1956 he was based in Egypt and was interned by the Egyptian authorities during the Suez Crisis.