What does Ralphs dad do in chapter one of lord of the flies?

Ralph's father is a commander in the Navy. Ralph's family have moved to a succession of houses as he father has been moved to different naval bases. When Ralph thinks about living in a house on the edge of the moors near Devonport, he also remembers that "Mummy had still been with them and Daddy had come home every day." As divorce was very uncommon when the book was written it might be assumed that it Ralph's parents weren't separated then perhaps his mother had died.