Hearing Rawalpindi's loss and debating a captain's duty

Ludovic Kennedy recalls hearing the Admiralty announce Rawalpindi's loss over the wireless and immediately understanding that his father was dead. He then explains the command culture in which Edward Kennedy had been formed. In that older ideal, a captain bore ultimate responsibility for the ship and should die with her if she was lost. Kennedy also acknowledges the more utilitarian view that a captain should escape when possible so his experience can remain in national service. The passage preserves a contemporary generational debate about honour, responsibility, and the value of experienced leadership rather than presenting a captain's death with his ship as an uncontested rule.