he attended the St. Michael's High School, Patna. His final inter science years were spent at the St. Edmund's College, Shillong up to 1942. He grew up initially thinking of joining the army like his father and brother before him and filled out the temporary emergency commission form with the army as his first choice and the navy as his second choice. He appeared before the provisional board in Bihar, followed by the central interview board at Lucknow, where he requested a change to the navy as his first choice. He subsequently appeared before the director of reserves at Bombay for his final interview. Successful at the interview, he was commissioned in the Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RINVR) as a midshipman on 16 January 1943. Naval career Early career Pereira started his career with a six-month basic training course in Bombay. He received the King's commission as a sub-lieutenant on 25 May 1943, his 20th birthday. He was asked to report to the Captain Coastal Forces, Eastern Theatre (CCFET) at HMIS Cheetah in Trombay. The Navy had quickly fitted out vessels called motor launch (ML), having a small crew of about a dozen sailors, to ensure the coastal defence. The CCFET had about 50 MLs in four flotilla which were tasked to keep at bay the might of the Japanese Navy in the Bay Of Bengal. Pereira was appointed executive officer of ML 1125 in mid-1943 and a few months later took command of the vessel. In early 1944, he took command of ML 1073 and, later in the year, of ML 844. After the war, he was contemplating about his career and decided to pursue a career in dentistry. In early 1946, the 56th Services Selection Board was set up at Lonavla to screen the RINR and RINVR officers for a permanent commission in the RIN. Appearing before the board, he was successful and was granted a permanent commission. He was promoted to the acting rank of lieutenant in April and posted to the River-class frigate in the Persian Gulf. After a short stint, he took command of ML 1261 at Basra, Iraq. After around a year in command, he was selected to attend the RIN Gunnery course at HMS Excellent in Portsmouth in May 1947. Post-Independence Pereira returned to India in December 1948 and was appointed staff gunnery officer (West Coast), a staff appointment. He requested a