Rear Admiral Otto Humphrey Becher, CBE, DSO, DSC & Bar (13 September 1908 – 15 June 1977) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

A lieutenant commander at the outbreak of the Second World War, Becher assisted in the extraction of Allied troops from the Namsos region of Norway while aboard the heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire, and was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross.

On 1 January 1922, at the age of thirteen, he enrolled in the Royal Australian Naval College at Jervis Bay,[1][2] where he performed well both academically and at sport, receiving colours for hockey and tennis.

Promoted to lieutenant commander on 16 June 1938, Becher briefly returned to Cerberus before embarking for the United Kingdom on exchange with the Royal Navy in January 1939.

[4] The notification for the decoration was published in a supplement to the London Gazette on 19 July 1940,[5] and the investiture ceremony was held by King George VI at Buckingham Palace on 11 March 1941.

[1][3] While completing working-up exercises, Napier was tasked with transferring British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife from Thurso in Scotland to the battleship HMS King George V, and later returning them to the mainland.

[6] With her working-up complete, Napier was initially posted to convoy duties in the North Atlantic, before setting sail in April 1941 with HMAS Nizam for the Mediterranean Sea.

[10] Praised for his "outstanding courage and skill" in pressing home the assault,[1][11] Becher was awarded a Bar to his Distinguished Service Cross, announced in a supplement to the London Gazette on 31 October 1944.

[13] During the early hours of 25 December 1944, the Navy Office in Melbourne received an SOS from the SS Robert J. Walker, reporting that she had been torpedoed by a submarine while travelling from Fremantle, Western Australia, to Sydney.

Arriving at the reported location at approximately 23:30 that evening, Quickmatch, under the command of Becher, and Kiama patrolled the vicinity in search of the submarine and Robert J. Walker's crew.

[15] On 28 February, the British Pacific Fleet, including Quickmatch, sailed from Sydney Harbour for Manus Island to prepare for its role in support of the planned United States invasion of Okinawa.

[3] Becher remained with the Navy Office until November 1947, when he was posted to the United Kingdom to join the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney's commissioning crew.

However, Becher's time at Watson was cut short when, on 28 July, he relieved Captain Alan McNicoll as commander of the destroyer HMAS Warramunga, which had been selected for service in the Korean War.

[1][3] Warramunga was to be attached to a force of five Royal Navy destroyers led by a captain, making it expedient to have the Australian ship commanded by an officer of lower rank.

[21] After some initial escort work, the destroyer joined HMAS Bataan as part of the carrier HMS Triumph's protective screen while the latter contributed air cover to the Allied landing at Inchon on 15 September.

[24] Warramunga participated in the siege of Wonsan during late February 1951, where she engaged and partially destroyed North Korean shore batteries, as well as shelling buildings and transport infrastructure.

[25] For the remainder of her tour in Korea, Warramunga took part in patrols and shore bombardments, earning special praise from Vice Admiral C. Turner Joy, Commander US Naval Forces Far East, for the accuracy of her gunnery.

[3] Following Warramunga's departure from Korean waters on 1 August, Rear Admiral Alan Scott-Moncrieff, Commander West Coast Blockade Force, commented: "She has been a tower of strength and done an incredible amount of steaming with no troubles at all.

[27] Noting his "courage, skill and determination",[28] a recommendation for Becher to be awarded the Distinguished Service Order was approved by the Australian Government on 17 August 1951,[28] and announced in the London Gazette the following month.

In September that year he was additionally appointed trustee of the Services Canteens Trust Fund; a position he held until October 1952 and for which he received a letter of appreciation from the Minister for Defence.

Becher remained with Melbourne until December 1958, at which time he returned to the Navy Office at HMAS Lonsdale to resume his role as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff.

Becher stated to the commission that Melbourne should have questioned Voyager's final movements; his evidence is alleged to have influenced the Royal Commissioner, Sir John Spicer, to place a degree of blame on Robertson.