Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a set of 5 articles extracted from the original text, which is available in the attached pdf file.
Journey to Valsura -1
1942 - 1946
Extracts from the diary of the late
Commander MFB Ward, Royal Navy (1901 - 1978)
The First Commanding Officer of I.N.S. VALSURA 1942 - 1946
Commander Ward
Edited by his son, Colonel Robert Ward, to mark the occasion of his visit to I.N.S VALSURA on 25th October 2012
Foreword
My father often talked about India warmly, particularly his time as the First Commanding Officer of I.N.S. VALSURA from his arrival in March 1942 until 1946. He had narrowly avoided death on 14th September 1939 when H.M.S. ROYAL OAK was sunk in Scapa Flow just after the start of World War II. This was one of the Royal Navy's biggest ever losses of life from a single ship. He suffered from smoke and oil inhalation to his lungs and via his stomach and took some time to recover.
