Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
Eric Augustas Feldt (3 January 1899 – 12 March 1968) was an officer in the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
and the director of the
Coastwatchers
The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II ...
organisation for much of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
North Queensland
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its Tropical North Queensland, trop ...
, on 3 January 1899, the eighth child of Swedish immigrants, Peter Nilsson Feldt, a cane farmer, and Augusta Blixt. Feldt attended the local school before winning a scholarship to
Brisbane Grammar School
Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) is an Independent school, independent, fee charging, non-denominational, day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, Queensland, Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Austra ...
where he boarded for a year. He then won selection for the first intake of cadets into the Royal Naval College in 1913, being the only cadet from Queensland.
He graduated as a midshipman in 1917 and sailed to England in April 1917 where he initially served on HMS Canada. He was promoted to lieutenant in February in 1920. In 1922 he left the Navy and was placed on the retired list.
In February 1923, Feldt became a clerk in the public service of the mandated
Territory of New Guinea
The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian-administered League of Nations and then United Nations trust territory on the island of New Guinea from 1914 until 1975. In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of Papua were established in an adm ...
. He rose to a patrol officer and then to district officer. In
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, on 10 January 1933, he married Nancy Lynette Echlin. They had no children.
Feldt suffered a near-fatal bout of
scrub typhus
Scrub typhus or bush typhus is a form of typhus caused by the intracellular parasite '' Orientia tsutsugamushi'', a Gram-negative α-proteobacterium of family Rickettsiaceae first isolated and identified in 1930 in Japan.ound recording/ref> On recovery he took up the position of Warden of Wau goldfields.
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
In April 1939, aware of the stirrings in Europe, Feldt transferred back to the Navy’s emergency list. When war came in September 1939, the Director of Naval Intelligence, Commander Rupert Long, a 1913 naval classmate, offered Feldt the task of heading a new Naval Intelligence Centre in
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
. From there Feldt could vastly extend the existing, but small, Coastwatcher service in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
and the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
.
Feldt accepted the position. In that same month Feldt set out to travel in New Guinea, Papua and the Solomons to personally enlist the help of every man who had a teleradio. "My travels took me all around the area by ship, motor boat, canoe, foot, bicycle and aeroplane, so I saw nearly everybody and nearly everybody saw me…… and nearly all were helpful." At this stage all Feldt’s appointments were unpaid civilian volunteers. A teleradio consisted of a transmitter, a receiver and a loud speaker, which were transported in three metal boxes measuring 60 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm. They were powered by car batteries, which were charged by a petrol engine weighing 30 kg. Moving them was difficult, requiring 12–16 indigenous people to help carry them.
Feldt then conceived the necessity of the positioning of Coastwatchers so that they formed a virtual fence reaching from the Dutch border with New Guinea to the eastern side of the Solomon Islands. He proposed that teleradios be loaned to selected persons at strategic points to close any gaps in the Coastwatching chain. Where there were no suitable people Feldt requested a naval person be sent. This being done, the fence was built and the gates shut.
Feldt gave his organisation the code name of "Ferdinand", taking the name from a children's book about a bull, ''
The Story of Ferdinand
''The Story of Ferdinand'' (1936) is the best-known work by the American author Munro Leaf. Illustrated by Robert Lawson, the children's book tells the story of a bull who would rather smell flowers than fight in bullfights. He sits in the ...
'' which had been popularised by a Walt Disney cartoon in 1938. It appealed to Feldt because "Ferdinand ... did not fight but sat under a tree and just smelled the flowers." It was meant as a reminder to coastwatchers that it was not their duty to fight and so draw attention to themselves, but to sit circumspectly and unobtrusively, gathering information. Of course, like their titular prototype, they could fight if they were stung.
Thus Feldt built up a team of reliable, trusted and experienced coastwatchers many of whom were expatriate Australians who knew the territory and the risks they would be taking.
The Coastwatchers headquarters was moved to
Townsville
The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
in May 1941. When the
War in the Pacific
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
commenced at the end of 1941, Feldt's responsibilities for his Coastwatchers increased, as the Japanese advance left the island screen as the front line. He insisted the Coastwatchers be given military standing which would provide them some income and protection for their widows via a pension, should the worst outcome occur. In April 1942 the Coastwatchers became members of the
Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve
Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) was a reserve force of the Royal Australian Navy.
Formation
In late 1920, the Navy Board proposed the creation of an Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve scheme, with approaches made to yac ...
(RANVR). By this time many of them were behind enemy lines.
As Supervising Intelligence Officer (SIO), Feldt’s duties were varied and demanding. As well as evaluation of intelligence, coding and de-coding, many other practical issues required overseeing. These included organising supplies such as food, uniforms, radio parts and parachutes to drop the latter, arranging finance for the supplies and organising submarines, PT boats and aircraft to retrieve downed airmen, sailors and coastwatchers who were ill or injured and placing new coastwatchers in their stead.
To Feldt, the needs of his coastwatchers were first and foremost. They, in turn, were extremely loyal to him. He worked for long hours throughout 1942 and into 1943. He suffered the loss of his best friend, Bill Kyle, whom he had recruited as a coastwatcher. Kyle was captured and executed by the Japanese.
The Coastwatchers made many significant contributions to the war in the Pacific but none more so than in the Battle for Guadalcanal. Messages from Read and Mason, such as "24 bombers headed yours" gave the American fighter aircraft a distinct advantage with time to be in the air as a "welcoming party" for the Japanese planes. This happened many times over and was of such significance that US Admiral of the Fleet William F. "Bull" Halsey said: "The coast watchers saved the Guadalcanal and Guadalcanal saved the South Pacific."
Besides their vital intelligence gathering, the Coastwatchers rescued 321 downed Allied airman, 280 sailors, 75 prisoners of war, 190 missionaries and civilians and hundreds of native peoples.
The responsibility and demands of leadership eventually took its toll on Feldt. While making a personal visit to some of his Coastwatchers in Guadalcanal in 1943, he suffered a heart attack, at the age of 44, and resigned his command. Commander J. C. McManus succeeded Feldt. While recuperating in Brisbane in 1943, Feldt commenced writing his personal account. His book ''The Coast Watchers'' was published in 1946.
Post War
Feldt and Long were both present at the opening of the Coastwatchers Memorial Lighthouse at
Madang
Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea.
History
Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai was probably the first Eur ...
in 1959. Feldt gave an emotional speech before unveiling a plaque at the base of the lighthouse which held the names of the thirty-six men who had given their lives.
On a visit to Australia in 1954, Admiral Halsely expressed his thanks and recognition of the role played by Feldt and his Coastwatchers and by saying "I could get down on my knees every night and thank God for Commander Eric Feldt." Despite this, Feldt’s sole award was to be an OBE in 1944 as Australians received British honours at this time. No award officially recognising his contribution was given by the United States.
Eric Feldt died of a heart attack on 14 March 1968 in New Farm,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. He was cremated and his ashes scattered into the sea off the Coastwatchers Memorial Lighthouse at Madang.
References
Notes
Books
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Popular culture
* Eric Feldt features in the W.E.B. Griffin series, " The Corps" as commander of the Coastwatcher's organisation. Griffin portrays Feldt in an heroic light, but as a heavy drinker, and a person with enormous disdain for the military hierarchy above him.