ah righto, yeah that is quite possible actually, I remember moving him into the damage control and it's probable I forgot to bring him out again.
Thanks for the replies I will try with SH3 commander tomorrow and see what happens
EDIT: interesting... I just checked SH commander now and it lists him as being dead which I don't remember happening, but I guess i will 'dismiss' him in SH commander and find someone else to takeover lol.
EDIT2: Nope I just remembered my whole crew are dead, I got taken out by some destroyers in a convoy and turns out I was right above a mine field at the time, I did wonder why my torpedos were detonating prematurely and not actually making it to any of the cargos lol. oh dear...
still doesnt explain why the officer isn't/wasn't appearing though, I will reload the previous save tomorrow and see what SH commander makes of it then.