Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson (13 November 1923 – 23 October 2011) was a four-star admiral in the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

. He served as the 11th Chief of the Naval Staff from 1 March 1982 to 30 November 1984. From 1983 until his retirement, he also served as the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee of the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...

. He previously served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of the

Southern Naval Command The Southern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It has its headquarters in Kochi, Kerala at INS Venduruthy. It is the Training Command of the Indian Navy. The Command is commanded by a Three Star Fla ...

and Flag Officer Commanding

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

(FOCEF). Adm Dawson was also the Director of Naval Operations during the

Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

. After retirement, Admiral Dawson served as the Indian High Commissioner to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. He also campaigned for a number of environmental causes and worked on the rehabilitation of disabled people. Admiral Dawson died of cerebral haemorrhage at the Command Hospital, Bangalore in October 2011.

Early life

Oscar Stanley was born in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

on 13 November 1923 to E. S. and Oliva Dawson. The family had origins in the Nadar community of Tamil Nadu and professed Christianity. He received his high school and college education in his hometown

Nagercoil Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...

, at

Scott Christian College Scott Christian College is an autonomous, co-educational, arts and science college in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. Run by the Diocese of Kanyakumari of the Church of South India, the college is graded "''A''" under National Assessment and Accreditat ...

. During the Japanese occupation of Burma in March 1942, his family was evacuated back to India.

Naval career

Upon arriving in India, Dawson continued with college studies, but left to enlist in the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. F ...

Volunteer Reserve. He received his commission as a midshipman on 8 January 1943. He received training as a specialist in navigation and direction in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he participated in the Arakan Campaign 1944-1945 and served on escort convoys in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...

and the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

. Following the independence of India, he was absorbed into the Indian Navy, with promotion to lieutenant in 1948. Among his early assignments, Dawson served as the naval aide-de-camp to the first

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, during 1953–54. He was promoted lieutenant-commander on 1 April 1956. Following graduation from the

Defence Services Staff College , motto_lang = sa , mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom'' , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali) , type = Defence Service Training Institute , affiliation = , endowment = , administrative_staff = , faculty = , pres ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

in 1957, he served as the navigating officer of . Later he served as the fleet navigating officer. Among the commands he held at sea, included those as the commanding officer of and . His appointments on shore included that as the commandant, Navigation and Direction School; director, Tactical School and chief staff officer, Cochin Area. Dawson was promoted to substantive captain on 30 June 1969. He was the Director of Naval Operations (DNO) at Naval Headquarters (NHQ) during the

. Some of the Indian Navy's most famous operational successes, including Operation Trident,

Operation Python Operation Python, a follow-up to Operation Trident, was the code name of a naval attack launched on West Pakistan's port city of Karachi by the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. After the first attack during Operation Trid ...

and the naval blockade of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

were accomplished during his tenure as DNO. Dawson was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for his services and leadership during the conflict. He graduated from the National Defence College, New Delhi in 1973. Subsequently, promoted to commodore and then to rear admiral on 8 March 1976, he served as the Flag Officer Commanding

(FOCEF) between February 1978 and March 1979. Promoted to vice-admiral on 1 April 1979, he served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-IN-C),

. In 1981, he was awarded the

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

(PVSM) for his distinguished service to the Indian Navy. Dawson was promoted to Admiral and succeeded Adm R L Pereira as the 11th Chief of the Naval Staff, taking command on 1 March 1982. Among his most significant contributions in office was the planning and vision for

Project Seabird INS Kadamba or Naval Base Karwar or Project Seabird is an Indian Navy base located near Karwar in Karnataka. The first phase of construction of the base, code-named ''Project Seabird'', was completed in 2005 and the base was commissioned on 3 ...

. Dawson retired from service on 30 November 1984, having spent 19 of his 41-year naval career at sea.

Later life

Dawson served as the Indian High Commissioner to

between August 1985 and September 1987. After retirement, Dawson lived in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

and

and actively supported a number of environmental causes. He led the campaign to clean

Ulsoor lake Ulsoor Lake or Halasuru Lake, one of the biggest lakes in Bangalore, is located on the eastern side of the city. It derives its name from the name of the locality it is situated, namely, Halasuru, close to M G Road. It is spread over and has ...

in Bangalore. He was instrumental in the campaign to discontinue the use of leaded petrol in the 1990s. He was also a skilled pianist.Krishnan, M. Anantha (2011) Now, Admiral Dawson on new voyage. New Indian Express. 24 October 2011
/ref> Since 2005, he served as the president of the charitable organization, ''Anga Karunya Kendra'', focused on supporting rehabilitation of disabled people. The organization primarily supports patients with

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

, muscular dystrophy and

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sens ...

, as well as survivors of accidents. A major focus of the organization is on rehabilitation using

prostheses In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

Death

Dawson died of cerebral hemorrhage on 23 October 2011, aged 87. He never married and was survived by his sister, Thelma.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Oscar Stanley 1923 births 2011 deaths Indian Navy admirals Chiefs of the Naval Staff (India) Flag Officers Commanding Eastern Fleet People from Kanyakumari district Anglo-Indian people Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Royal Indian Navy officers National Defence College, India alumni Indian expatriates in British Burma Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal