 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 . 
