Hector Waller Hector Macdonald Laws ( Hec ) Waller , DSO and Bar ( 4 April 1900 – 1 March 1942 ) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) . In a career spanning almost thirty years , he served in both world wars . At the helm of HMAS " Stuart " in the Mediterranean from 1939 to 1941 , he won recognition as a skilful ship ' s captain and flotilla commander . He then transferred to the South West Pacific as captain of the light cruiser HMAS " Perth " , and went down with his ship against heavy odds during the Battle of Sunda Strait in early 1942 . Born in Benalla , Victoria , Waller entered the Royal Australian Naval College at the age of thirteen . After graduating , he served with the Royal Navy ( RN ) in the closing stages of World War I . Between the wars , he specialised in communications and was posted as signals officer to various British and Australian warships . He gained his first seagoing command in 1937 , as captain of HMS " Brazen " . In September 1939 , he took charge of HMAS " Stuart " and four other obsolete destroyers that together became known as the " Scrap Iron Flotilla " . In 1940 , these were augmented by other ships to form the 10th Destroyer Flotilla , supporting Allied troops in North Africa . Waller was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Bar , and twice mentioned in despatches , for his achievements in the Mediterranean . He assumed command of HMAS " Perth " in October 1941 , taking part in the Battle of the Java Sea shortly before his final action in Sunda Strait . He received a third mention in despatches posthumously , and in 2011 came under formal consideration for the award of the Victoria Cross ( VC ) for his performance as " Perth " ' s captain . The submarine HMAS " Waller " is named in his honour . Early life and World War I . Born on 4 April 1900 in Benalla , Victoria , Hector MacDonald Laws Waller was the son of William Frederick Waller , a grocer , and his wife Helen Waller ( née Duncan ) . Hec Waller was named in honour of General Hector MacDonald , hero of the Boer War , and a forebear called Laws who was an admiral and a contemporary of Nelson . The youngest of ten children , of whom eight survived infancy , he attended Benalla Higher Elementary School . Waller entered the Royal Australian Naval College ( RANC ) as a cadet midshipman on 31 December 1913 , aged thirteen . He gained recognition as a rugby player and became cadet captain . In 1917 , his final year at the college , he was raised to chief cadet captain and won the King ' s Medal , awarded for " gentlemanly bearing , character , good influence among his fellows and officer - like qualities " . Promoted to midshipman on 1 January 1918 , he was posted to Britain where , in April , he was appointed to serve in the Royal Navy ' s ( RN ) Grand Fleet with the dreadnought HMS " Agincourt " . The ship did not see combat while he was on board , however . Between the wars . In February 1919 , Waller was assigned to the light cruiser HMAS " Melbourne " , and two months later returned to Australia . He transferred to the light cruiser HMAS " Sydney as an acting sub - lieutenant in September ; his rank was made substantive the following month . In April 1920 he was again posted aboard " Melbourne " . Promoted to lieutenant in March 1921 , he went through further training in Britain before returning to join the staff of the RANC . Waller married Nancy Bowes , a minister ' s daughter , on 7 April 1923 in the Sydney suburb of Lewisham ; the couple had two sons , Michael and John . In April 1924 , he was posted to the light cruiser HMAS " Adelaide " . Later that year , he began training as a signals officer in England ; his classmates included Lord Louis Mountbatten . Waller finished at the top of the advanced course and , in May 1926 , took charge of the Signals and Wireless - Telegraphy School at Flinders Naval Depot in Westernport , Victoria . From 1928 to 1930 , he served with the RN as a signals officer aboard the destroyer HMS " Broke " . He was promoted to lieutenant commander in March 1929 . By this stage of his career , Waller had acquired a strong reputation for his communications work . In July 1930 , he was posted aboard the Royal Australian Navy ' s ( RAN ) flagship , the heavy cruiser HMAS " Australia " , as squadron signals officer . He continued to perform this role upon transferring to " Australia " s sister ship , HMAS " Canberra " , in May 1931 . In early 1932 , he was assigned to the Navy Office in Melbourne , returning to " Canberra " as squadron signals officer in August 1933 . He was promoted to commander in June 1934 and the following month became executive officer of the RANC . Departing the college in July 1936 , he returned to England and spent six months working in the British Naval Intelligence Division . A stint as executive officer of the repair ship HMS " Resource " followed . In November 1937 , Waller was given his first command at sea , the RN destroyer HMS " Brazen " . His ship handling was criticised early on , but was soon reported by his superiors as having " improved greatly " . Stationed in the Mediterranean , " Brazen " monitored progress of the Spanish Civil War , a duty that included protecting British merchant vessels and rescuing the crews of sinking ships . By June 1939 , Waller had returned to Australia to become Director of Signals and Communications at the Navy Office . World War II . HMAS " Stuart " in the Mediterranean . At the outbreak of World War II , Waller was appointed captain of HMAS " Stuart " , taking charge of a group of four other obsolete ex - RN destroyers — HMA Ships " Vampire " , " Vendetta " , " Voyager " , and " Waterhen " — that the Germans later nicknamed the " Scrap Iron Flotilla " . The ships were en route to Singapore for training when the British and Australian governments agreed that they should be assigned to the Mediterranean as the 19th Destroyer Division , under Waller ' s control . Arriving at Malta in late December , Waller made a positive initial impression on senior RN commanders ; this was soon borne out by his actions during the salvage of the " Trocas " , a disabled tanker . In May 1940 , he was appointed to command the 10th Destroyer Flotilla , which included the vessels of the " Scrap Iron Flotilla " plus four modern British destroyers , and a month later was promoted to captain . Following Italy ' s entry into the war on 10 June 1940 , Waller was involved in the search for minefields off the North African coast . A keen shooter , he personally blew up floating mines using a rifle and armour - piercing bullets . On 21 June , " Stuart " shelled the Italian - held town of Bardia . The next month , his 10th Destroyer Flotilla participated in the Battle of Calabria . Waller ' s ships carried out bombardments on Fort Capuzzo on 17 August and an Italian seaplane base in the Gulf of Bomba one week later . In September , he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) for " courage , enterprise , and devotion to duty on recent engagements " — in particular , his pinpointing of enemy minefields . The same month , he transferred to HMAS " Vampire " while " Stuart " went in for refit . As the Allied armies began to counterattack Italian forces in December 1940 , the Commander - in - Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet , Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham , gave Waller command of the newly formed Inshore Squadron , comprising destroyers , minesweepers , and auxiliaries . In his role as Cunningham ' s Senior Officer Afloat , Waller took charge of naval support for the attack on Bardia , which fell to the Allies on 5 January 1941 . Shortly afterwards , he handed over command of the Inshore Squadron and transferred back aboard " Stuart " . " Stuart " and other ships of Waller ' s 10th Destroyer Flotilla supported the assaults on Tobruk in January 1941 and Benghazi the following month . In March , " Stuart " escorted Allied troop transports to Greece as part of Operation Lustre , narrowly avoiding falling victim to Axis dive - bomber attacks . During the Battle of Cape Matapan at the end of the month , Waller ' s ships were credited with sinking two Italian destroyers . From May to July , the 10th Destroyer Flotilla made 139 ferry runs during the Siege of Tobruk , carrying supplies to the town ' s garrison and evacuating the wounded . Waller was mentioned in despatches twice during 1941 : in July for his army cooperation role with the Inshore Squadron off the Libyan coast , and in November for his service during the Greek campaign . In January 1942 , he was awarded a Bar to his DSO for " bravery and enterprise in the Battle of Cape Matapan " . Waller earned the personal admiration of Admiral Cunningham , who described him as " one of the finest types of Australian naval officers . . . greatly loved and admired by everyone " . On the occasion of a visit to Alexandria by Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies , Cunningham escorted him to " Stuart " and declared : " And now you are going to meet one of the greatest captains who ever sailed the seas — his name is Waller " . According to author Ray Parkin , who began writing while a prisoner of war , " Andrew Cunningham and Hector Waller were cast in the same mould : men would follow them , suffer , and be glad about it . These were both men made by Fate for those ever - recurring Saint Crispin ' s Day s of human affairs " . HMAS " Perth " and the Battle of Sunda Strait . Departing the Mediterranean , Waller returned to Australia in August 1941 for service in the South West Pacific . On 24 October , he took command of the light cruiser HMAS " Perth " , berthed in Sydney . " Perth " had also lately returned from action in the Mediterranean , where she had participated in the Greek , Cretan , and Syrian campaign s , and been damaged on two occasions by German bombers . Waller was reportedly " tired " and " quite a sick man " at this time , but nonetheless prepared " Perth " for action quickly . In January 1942 , the ship was assigned to American - British - Dutch - Australian Command ( ABDA ) to help defend the Dutch East Indies . She set sail for the ABDA Area on 15 February , the day that Singapore surrendered . The ABDA Striking Force that " Perth " had joined was crushed by an overwhelming Japanese force at the Battle of the Java Sea on 27 February . Low on ammunition , Waller made the decision to withdraw , accompanied by the cruiser USS " Houston " under the command of Captain Albert H . Rooks . Waller ' s action contravened the orders of his Dutch superior , Admiral Conrad Helfrich , to " continue action whatever the cost , and till the bitter end " , but the Australian was convinced that further engagement would mean pointless sacrifice . On the following night , 28 February , " Perth " and " Houston " were attempting to break through the Sunda Strait to Australia when they encountered a Japanese invasion fleet escorted by four cruiser s and twelve destroyer s . As senior officer , Waller was in the lead with " Perth " , and gave the order to fire upon making contact with the enemy ships just after 11 : 00 pm . In the ensuing battle , the Allied cruisers sank four Japanese transports and a minesweeper before they themselves were sunk , shortly after midnight on 1 March 1942 . Having fought to the last of its ammunition , " Perth " was struck by two torpedoes , losing over 350 of its complement of 680 as it keeled over . According to witnesses , Waller was last seen standing on the bridge after he had given the order to abandon ship , " looking down at the silent turrets " . He was officially listed as missing , presumed killed , and was survived by his wife and sons . Admiral Cunningham described Waller ' s loss as " a heavy deprivation for the young Navy of Australia " , and Rear Admiral James Goldrick subsequently called him " the outstanding officer of his generation " . Legacy . On 15 March 1946 , Waller was awarded a posthumous mention in despatches for " gallantry and resolution " aboard HMAS " Perth " . His younger son John followed him into the Navy , entering the RANC in 1947 . Graduating as chief cadet captain , John Waller became a weapons electrical engineer and attained the rank of commander in 1967 , before transferring to the Emergency Reserve as a senior Navy research scientist . Hec Waller ' s name appears on the Roll of Honour located at Panel 6 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial , Canberra , and on the Plymouth Naval Memorial in Devon , England . He is also commemorated by Waller Crescent and Waller Place in the Canberra suburb of Campbell . The Benalla Costume and Pioneer Museum holds his medals and dress uniform . The Waller Division of the RAN Recruit School at HMAS " Cerberus " , Victoria , is named in his honour . HMAS " Waller " , the third of the RAN ' s " Collins " - class submarines to enter service , was commissioned on 10 July 1999 . The attendees included John Waller , Michael Waller ' s wife , and surviving crewmen of HMAS " Perth " . On 13 March 2010 , a memorial to Waller was unveiled in his home town of Benalla . In April 2011 , he was one of thirteen servicemen — eleven sailors and two soldiers , including Teddy Sheean , Robert Rankin , and John Simpson Kirkpatrick — named by the Australian government for consideration as possible recipients of the Victoria Cross ( VC ) for extreme valour in combat , under a review by the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal ; no RAN member had ever been awarded the decoration . Concluding its investigations in February 2013 , the tribunal recommended that no further award be made to any of the thirteen servicemen , but that the name " Waller " ( among others ) should continue to be used for RAN ships after the current bearer was decommissioned .