Article Posted on : - May 21, 2009

HMIS Delhi a part of Royal Indian Navy in 1948. Photo credit: Bharat rakshak

LONDON (PTI): Commander Anthony Brian Goord, who held key positions in the Royal Indian Navy and later aided the Indianisation of the service in 1947, has died at the age of 97.

Goord joined the Royal Indian Navy (RIN), which was established in 1612 by Britain's East India Company, to protect its business interests from the Portugese traders in India's west coast.

After his joining Goord  oversaw RIN's expansion from eight minor warships to 117 combat vessels and 30,000 personnel by the end of the First World War.

His first seagoing appointment in September 1935 was in India, at that time he was in  RIN's best ship, as gunnery and navigating officer.

In 1938, Goord returned UK to undergo specialist courses in navigation and anti-submarine warfare and came back to India in October 1939 and became the RIN's staff anti-submarine officer commanding the anti-submarine warfare school.

During this period he invented the Goord Goldfish, a device to help ASDIC (code name for sonar) operators in ships, according to his obituary in The Times.

With his appointment as assistant chief of staff (operations and intelligence) to the Flag Officer RIN, Goord stressed on "Indianisation of the navy".

Goord retired from RIN on October 1947 and moved to Kenya with his family. He passed away on May 8 this year.