Career
Educated at the Royal Naval Colleges at Osborne and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Parham joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1913. He served in World War I as a midshipman on HMS Malaya. In 1937 he was given command of HMS Shikari.
He served in World World War II as Captain of the destroyer HMS Gurkha, which was sunk by enemy action in 1940.
From 1942 he had command of the cruiser HMS Belfast which remains permanently moored as a museum ship in London. After the War he commanded the battleship HMS Vanguard and then, from 1949, became Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel.
He was made Flag Officer (Flotillas) and Second in Command of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1951 and Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Supplies and Transport in 1954. Finally he was made Commander-in-Chief, The Nore in 1955.
He retired in 1959. In retirement he chaired a Parliamentary Committee on Inland Waterways.
