Well he was definitely in that part of the world in WW2 because he was at the helm of the freighter "Automedon" in the straits of Java, when she encountered the German raider "Atlantis" and was sunk.

This incident was quite a major part of the history of the war because the ship was carrying secret dispatches including one which reported that Singapore could not not be adequately defended from Japanese attack. These papers were passed on to the Japs by the Germans and led to the fall of Singapore.