Question

What is Lord Mountbatten retirement year ?
1. 1947
2. 1950
3. 1959
4. 1965

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 4 : 1965

• Mountbatten joined the Royal Navy in 1916 and served at sea in World War One. This was the start of a long and illustrious naval career, which ended when he retired in 1965.
• In World War Two, he commanded the destroyer HMS Kelly when it was sunk by German dive bombers off the coast of Crete with the loss of more than half the crew.
• The Kelly and her captain were later immortalized in Noel Coward's film In Which We Serve.
• Mountbatten was appointed chief of combined operations, preparing for the eventual invasion of occupied Europe, and was responsible for the disastrous Dieppe raid of August 1942.
• It was in this role, according to historians John Keegan and Andrew Wheatcroft, that Mountbatten revealed his great talent: "He was a fixer, using diplomacy, flattery, threats and cajoling to achieve his ends."

• In October 1943, Mountbatten became the supreme allied commander, South East Asia Command, with responsibilities that stretched from India and Sri Lanka to Burma, Malaya, and Indo-China. In September 1945, he received the Japanese surrender at Singapore.
• Once the war ended, decisions were political as much as military as local forces were reluctant to return to military rule.
• In 1947 Clement Attlee persuaded Mountbatten to serve as the last viceroy of India, overseeing the British withdrawal.
• The newly created Earl Mountbatten of Burma had hoped for the creation of an independent united India but on 15 August 1947 British India was partitioned into the new states of India and Pakistan, resulting in widespread inter-communal violence.
• In 1950s Mountbatten returned to the navy. He was appointed first sea lord - a position his father held 40 years before - and in 1959 he became chief of the defense staff.