Admiral O S Dawson, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, Passed away today..

Kunal Biswas

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Admiral O S Dawson, PVSM, AVSM, ADC



Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson assumed charge of the Indian Navy
, as the 10th Chief of Naval Staff, on 28 February 1982. Born in Burma, he also had his high school education there. When the Japanese occupied Burma in March 1942, he shifted to India where he continued his studies.


Commissioned in the Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RINVR) on 07 January 1943, Admiral Dawson was subsequently thereafter absorbed in the regular cadre of the Royal Indian Navy (RIN). Even as a junior officer his career was marked with distinction and the sea has always been his first love. He participated in World War II in the Arakan Operations (Burma), on convoy escort duty in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea and in mine-sweeping operations soon after the war.


Trained as a specialist in Navigation & Direction in the United Kingdom, Admiral Dawson has held various afloat and ashore appointments. He served as the Naval ADC to President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, from 1953-54 and since 02 March 1981 is the Honorary Naval ADC to the President.


Subsequent to his graduation from the Defence Services Staff College in 1957, Admiral Dawson served as the navigating officer of the aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant and also as the Fleet Navigating Officer. Later, he held appointments of Officer-in-Charge, Navigation & Direction School and that of the Director, Tactical School and Chief Staff Officer at Cochin.

Graduating from the National Defence College, in New Delhi in 1973, Admiral Dawson has to his credit 19 years of sea service which included important sea commands of the INS Talwar and INS Nilgiri. He served as the Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Fleet, from February 1978 to March 1979. His important shore appointments include INS Circars - the Commanding Officer of the Boys' Training Establishment and the Director of Naval Operations (DNO) at Naval HQ during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan Conflict, for which he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM).


As the General Manager, Goa Shipyard Limited, Admiral Dawson introduced a Corporate Development Plan for the Shipyard and also brought about progressive management practices which improved the relationship between the workers and management. He was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) for distinguished service of exceptional order on Republic Day 1981. He served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command before assuming the office of Chief of Naval Staff (CNS).

During the latter half of his tenure as CNS, Admiral Dawson was also Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC). He retired from the Navy on 30 November 1984, after 41+ years of glorious naval service. He was appointed as the High Commissioner of India to New Zealand in August 1985 and returned to Bangalore in September 1987, on completion of his tenure there.







A relentless fighter



The former Chief of Naval Staff is on a new mission providing artificial limbs to the needy. He talks to Shyama Rajagopal.

Admiral O.S. Dawson, former Chief of Naval Staff, continues to be a fighter even after leaving the armed forces in 1984. His fight is for the cause of humanity. Making a name in pioneering the efforts to make available lead-free petrol in 1997 and making the then Government come out with a decision to phase out leaded petrol, Admiral Dawson is now on another project.

Making artificial limbs for the needy, apart from talking on how lead poisoning affects humanity. "No level of lead in blood is safe or normal, though the accepted level is 5-10 micro gram per decilitre," says Admiral Dawson.
He was in Kochi to attend a conference on toxicology. Admiral Dawson remembers the place where he had been the Chief of Staff in 1965. The mess at Naval base had come up at that time. "I was here earlier too, soon after the war (World War II), in 1945-46, commanding a ship," recollects Admiral Dawson.

A study undertaken on 22,000 children, pregnant women and others in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Vellore and Hyderabad gave disturbing facts, he said. "More than 50 per cent of children below the age of 12 in all the cities had lead level in their blood above 10 micro gram per decilitre." This study paved the way for the success of Project Lead-Free, with the Government taking immediate decision on the issue. His first social concern that turned into a public service was the cleaning up of Ulsoor lake in Bangalore. The Navy helped him in his efforts to clean up the lake, which was filled with silt. Anga Karunya Kendra is the project that he is associated with at present. Its founder C.S. Samuel chose Admiral Dawson to succeed him. The Kendra provides artificial limbs to those affected by polio, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and accidents.

As its president, Admiral Dawson has taken up an expansion plan to set up a rehabilitation centre along with an outreach programme with a mobile fabrication van. "I am approaching various people for funds for the Rs. 4-crore project," he said.

Among other concerns, management of water is dear to Admiral Dawson. Cities have grown disproportionate to the infrastructure they have. The Bangalore-flooding is a case in point, he said.

"It was a beautiful city when I came down to settle here," he said. "It is chaos now."







Admiral O S Dawson, PVSM, AVSM, ADC



87, former Indian Navy chief. Passed away at Command Hospital Bangalore today.

Rest In Peace..




Source:
http://frontierindia.net/indiandefence/admiral-oscar-stanley-dawson-former-indian-navy-chief-passes-away/
 
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Tomcat

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shanu varuna admiral may the winds of neptune guide your ship to haven
 
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Pintu

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R.I.P. the brave son of mother India.

Regards
 

W.G.Ewald

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Making a name in pioneering the efforts to make available lead-free petrol in 1997 and making the then Government come out with a decision to phase out leaded petrol, Admiral Dawson is now on another project.

Making artificial limbs for the needy, apart from talking on how lead poisoning affects humanity. "No level of lead in blood is safe or normal, though the accepted level is 5-10 micro gram per decilitre," says Admiral Dawson.
This was a major issue in the US. After tetraethyl lead was removed from gasoline, exposures from ambient air dropped significantly.
 

ace009

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RIP. We need more people like you.
 

sandeepdg

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RIP, sir. You were a great warrior and a noble man, and this country needs more people like you.
 

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