M. H. St. L. Nott
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Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...
Martin Henry St. Leger Nott, DSO,
OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
was an Officer in the
Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British Raj, British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the British Indian Army, Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the ...
. He was the first
Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
to the Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy after the Independence of India. He died in a plane crash with his family at Mont Cardo, near
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,
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, at the age of 43. Nott was regarded as a visionary officer who worked to build the fledgling Indian Navy in her early years after Independence. He is credited with drawing up the plans of the expansion of the RIN, having led the development of the first ten-year plan paper. He was also regarded as an outstanding seaman, excellent
staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large milita ...
and a great administrator. As the Naval officer-in-charge Cochin, he saw potential and advocated the development and expansion of the naval base in
Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...
.


Early life

Nott was born on 30 June 1904 to
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
Lewis Herbert William Nott, an officer in the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
and Hilda Mary Stephens.


Naval career

Nott joined the
Royal Indian Marine Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...
(RIM) at the age of 17 as a
midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...
in 1921. He was promoted to the rank of sub-lieutenant on 15 October 1924. He specialised in signals and communication and spent his early years based out of Bombay at '' HMIS Dalhousie''. After three years in the rank of Sub-Lieutenant, he was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
on 15 October 1927. On 2 October 1934, the RIM was renamed Royal Indian Navy (RIN). The next year, with 8 years service, he was promoted to lieutenant commander on 15 October 1935. In the
1938 New Year Honours The 1938 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 1 January 1938.United Kingdom and Britis ...
, Nott was awarded the
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
, Later that year, he was selected to attend the
Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...
, the staff course starting on 10 January 1939. He was the only RIN officer to attend the course where he and Sir Gerald Gladstone, who rose to become the Commander-in-Chief, Far East Fleet were course-mates.


World War II

With the outbreak of
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 September 1939, Nott was appointed
commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...
of the auxiliary patrol vessel ''HMIS Ramdas''. Since the ''Ramdas'' was off Karachi, he was also in charge of the Karachi naval defence flotilla. On 2 February 1940, he moved to
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
and took command of the
survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the pu ...
'' HMIS Investigator'' and was in charge of the local naval defence flotilla. In March, he took command of the Cornwallis-class sloop ''HMIS Pansy'' and was back in command of the ''Investigator'' in April. In July, he moved to the Boys' training establishment at Karachi – HMIS Bahadur. In February 1941, Nott was appointed on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Sir Ralph Leatham. The East Indies Station was headquartered at in
Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
and Nott served as the liaison officer to the C-in-C. In August 1940, Italy invaded British Somaliland annexing it. In early 1941,
Operation Appearance Operation Appearance (16 March – 8 April 1941) was a British landing in the British Somaliland Protectorate against troops of the Italian Army. The Italian conquest of British Somaliland had taken place in August 1940, seven months earlier. ...
was being planned to re-take British Somaliland. Nott played an important part in the arrangements for seaborne supplies for the advancing forces in Italian Somaliland. On 19 April 1941, he was promoted to the acting rank of
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 ...
. For good services in operations off the coast of
Italian East Africa Italian East Africa (, A.O.I.) was a short-lived colonial possession of Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 in the Horn of Africa. It was established following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which led to the military occupation of the Ethiopian ...
, he was
mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...
on 30 September 1941. He was appointed Staff Officer (Operations) to the
Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf, was a Royal Navy command appointment who was responsible for administering the Persian Gulf Station military formation including its establishments and naval forces known as the Persian Gulf Squadron later c ...
. He subsequently moved to the Royal Naval base in the Persian Gulf – HMS ''Seabelle''. For his services in the Persian Gulf, he was mentioned in dispatches for the second time. In September 1941, he moved to Naval headquarters as the Staff Officer (Plans). During this tenure, on 28 May 1942, he was promoted to the substantive rank of commander. He subsequently worked towards dealing with the menace of Japanese submarines in the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...
. On 1 January 1944, Nott was promoted to the acting rank of
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
. On 21 March 1944, he was appointed commanding officer of the modified
Black Swan-class sloop The ''Black Swan'' class and Modified ''Black Swan'' class were two classes of sloop of the Royal Navy and Royal Indian Navy. Twelve ''Black Swan''s were launched between 1939 and 1943, including four for the Royal Indian Navy; twenty-five ...
, the
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
of the Royal Indian Navy. He also directed the operations as the Senior Naval Commander of the bombarding force for Japanese positions on the
Arakan Arakan ( or ; , ), formerly anglicised as Aracan, is the historical geographical name for the northeastern coastal region of the Bay of Bengal, covering present-day Bangladesh and Myanmar. The region was called "Arakan" for centuries. It is ...
coast. The task force consisting of ''Narbada'' and the
Black Swan-class sloop The ''Black Swan'' class and Modified ''Black Swan'' class were two classes of sloop of the Royal Navy and Royal Indian Navy. Twelve ''Black Swan''s were launched between 1939 and 1943, including four for the Royal Indian Navy; twenty-five ...
, was part of a larger British task force which bombarded Japanese positions at
Isla Pulo Pulo Island, commonly known as Isla Pulo, is a long, narrow island surrounded by mudflats in the Manila Bay coast of Navotas, about north of Manila in the Philippines. It is a sitio in Barangay Tanza, connected to the mainland of Navotas by a b ...
at the entrance of the
Malacca Strait The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...
. For ''his courage, tenacity and devotion to duty in operations lasting four months, frequently performed under rapidly changing conditions and with difficult lines of communication, on the Arakan Coast'', Nott was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...
. After the
Surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...
, the ''Narbada'' sailed to Andaman waters and Nott accepted the surrender of the Japanese
Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...
in command of the
Car Nicobar Car Nicobar ( in Car language) is the northernmost of the Nicobar Islands. It is also one of three local administrative divisions of the Indian district of Nicobar, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Annual ra ...
garrison onboard the ship.


Post-war career

In mid-1945, Nott moved to Karachi as the Naval Officer-in-Charge (NOIC), based out of ''HMIS Monze''. On 1 November 1945, he was appointed Director of Training and Education at Naval HQ. This stint was to be of immense help post-Independence when most of the training establishments were allotted to Pakistan. In April 1946, Nott was appointed Chief Staff Officer (CSO) to the Flag Officer Bombay (FOB),
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
Arthur Rullion Rattray Rear-Admiral Sir Arthur Rullion Rattray, (2 May 1891 – 10 August 1966) was a British naval officer who served in the Royal Indian Navy and was an air observer during World War I. He rose to senior rank in the Royal Indian Navy during World War ...
. After a short stint, in February 1947, he took command of HMIS Venduruthy as the Naval Officer-in-charge Cochin. Soon after taking over, he saw the potential of the base and envisioned the development of Cochin as a combined training base. With Nott's efforts, multiple training establishments were set up in Cochin. On 31 May 1947, he was promoted to the substantive rank of captain.


Post-Independence

After the
partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
, Nott's services were loaned to India. On 15 August 1947, was constituted Commodore 2nd class and appointed Chief of Staff (COS) to the Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy. The Chief of Staff to the C-in-C was the de facto
second in command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, f ...
of the RIN. This appointment was re-designated ''Deputy Commander-in-Chief'' in 1949, '' Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff'' in 1955 and '' Vice Chief of the Naval Staff'' in 1967. In late-1947, the Navy participated in the
Annexation of Junagadh In February 1948, the princely state of Junagadh State, Junagadh, located in what is now the Indian state of Gujarat, was annexed to the Dominion of India, Union of India after a dispute with the Dominion of Pakistan, regarding its Instrument ...
, responsible for landing troops and equipment on the Kathiawar coast. Nott led the planning and control of the operation. The naval force consisted of the frigates – , , , the minesweepers – , , , three LSTs and a
Motor launch Launch is a name given to several different types of boat. The wide range of usage of the name extends from utilitarian craft through to pleasure boats built to a very high standard. In naval use, the launch was introduced as a ship's boat ...
ML 420. The force was under the command of Commander
Ram Dass Katari Admiral (India), Admiral Ram Dass Katari (8 October 1911 – 21 January 1983) was an Indian Navy Admiral who served as the 3rd Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) from 22 April 1958 to 4 June 1962. He was the first I ...
. As COS, Nott was responsible for the planning of the expansion of the Navy for an Independent India. He led the development of the first Plans paper and handpicked Commander
Adhar Kumar Chatterji Admiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji (4 March 1914 – 6 August 2001) was an Admiral in the Indian Navy. He served as the 5th Chief of the Naval Staff, from 4 March 1966, until 28 February 1970. He was the first Indian officer of the navy to hold ...
to head the plans directorate and Lieutenant Commander Nilakanta Krishnan as staff officer (plans). The plans paper ''Outline Plan for the Reorganisation and Development of the Indian Navy'' visualised four roles for the Navy: * To safeguard Indian shipping. * To ensure that supplies could reach and leave by sea in all circumstances. * To prevent an enemy landing on India's shores. * To support the Army in sea borne operations. His paper called for the building of a completely Indian-manned force consisting of two light
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
s, three cruisers, eight
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s, four
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s and "such smaller ships as were necessary for training and auxiliary purposes." It also envisioned the formation of two fleets, each to be built around a light fleet carrier. As a result of the first phase of his plan, the Leander-class cruiser was acquired in 1948 and christened . Three
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s – , and were also acquired and renamed , and .


Personal life

Nott married Rosemary Kathleen Dampier Terry of London in August 1939. The couple had a son. Nott, Rosemary and their son, all perished in an air crash.


Death and legacy

On 27 March 1948, Nott was proceeding to the United Kingdom on deputation. He, along with his wife Rosemary and son, were on an
Indian National Airways Ltd Indian National Airways Ltd was an airline based in Delhi, India.Page 15 The founder of the airline was R. E. Grant Govan, a Delhi based British industrialist who also co-founded the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Cricket Club ...
flight. The
Vickers VC.1 Viking The Vickers VC.1 Viking is a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers-Armstrongs, Vickers-Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. After the Second World War, ...
aircraft crashed near Mont Cardo near Corsica. His death came as a shock to the Navy. Nott was the architect of the ten-year plan and was looking forward enthusiastically to implement the paper. According to Krishnan, he was regarded as an outstanding seaman, excellent staff officer and a great administrator. The first Indian Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Katari considered Nott to be the most efficient officer of the Royal Navy deputed to the Indian Navy. His vision of a two-fleet navy became a reality in 1971, when the
Eastern Fleet Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...
was formed. The
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
called him "one of the Navy's most efficient and enterprising officers." A special memorial service was held for him attended by the
Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...
Sardar Baldev Singh and high-ranking officers of the RIN, the
Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
and the
Royal Indian Air Force The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British Raj, British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the British Indian Army, and the Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire. The ...
. The Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy Rear Admiral John Talbot Savignac Hall, the officiating Chief of the Air Staff
Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...
Subroto Mukerjee Subroto Mukerjee ( Bengali: সুব্রত মুখোপাধ্যায়) (5 March 1911 – 8 November 1960) was an Indian military officer who was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Air Force. He was awarded ...
,
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
Dudley Russell and Major General S. M. Shrinagesh were in attendance. After Nott's death,
Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...
Ajitendu Chakraverti Rear Admiral Ajitendu Chakraverti was a Flag Officer in the Indian Navy. He served as the second Indian Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet, succeeding Rear Admiral Ram Dass Katari. He was the first Indian to be promoted to the high rank of Com ...
took over as the officiating Chief of Staff after Nott's death, thus becoming the first Indian to be promoted to the rank of Commodore. The Naval headquarters awards an annual ''Commodore Nott prize'' for the best essay on naval matters.


See also

* Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff *
Southern Naval Command The Southern Naval Command is one of the three, command-level formations of the Indian Navy. Southern Naval Command is the largest naval command in India and it has its headquarters in Kochi, Kerala at INS Venduruthy. It is the Training Comman ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nott, Martin Henry St. Leger Royal Indian Navy officers Deputy chiefs of Naval Staff (India) Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1904 births 1948 deaths Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1948 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in France