Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Paul Morrison Bushe Chavasse

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, DSC and Bar (4 January 1908 - 23 August 1994) was the 3rd Commander of the Royal Ceylon Navy. He was appointed with the temporary rank of commodore on 15 June 1953 and served until 7 November 1955. He was succeeded by

Royce de Mel Rear Admiral Gerard Royce Maxwell De Mel, OBE (1917-199??) was Ceylonese admiral. He was the Captain of the Royal Ceylon Navy from 1955 to 1961, the first Ceylonese to hold the post. He was accused and convicted in the 1962 Ceylonese coup d'ét ...

Life

Chavasse was the youngest son (of four brothers) of Major Henry Chavasse (1863-1943), and his second wife Judith Isabella Fleming (1867-1935). He joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in 1926 and was educated at Dartmouth and Greenwich. He was commissioned an

acting sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

on 1 May 1928, and successively promoted to

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

(1 January 1929), lieutenant (1 October 1930) and to

lieutenant-commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

(1 October 1938). He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) in 1940, mentioned in deapatches for service in the Mediterranean in 1942 and awarded a second DSC in 1944 for his role in sinking the German battleship ''Scharnhorst''. Promoted to commander (31 December 1944), he served in the Operations Division (Mining) on HMS ''President.'' In 1953, he was appointed the third commander of the Royal Ceylon Navy with the temporary rank of commodore. Serving until 1955, he was appointed a CBE in 1960 and retired as a captain later that year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chavasse, P. M. B. Commanders of the Navy (Sri Lanka) 20th-century Royal Navy personnel 1908 births 1994 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire