Martin Henry St. Leger Nott

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Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Mentioned in dispatches
(2)

Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy after the Independence of India. He died in a plane crash with his family at Mont Cardo, near Corsica, France
, 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

Cochin
.

Early life

Nott was born on 30 June 1904 to Major Lewis Herbert William Nott, an officer in the British Army and Hilda Mary Stephens.[1]

Naval career

Nott joined the

HMIS Dalhousie.[4][5] After three years in the rank of Sub-Lieutenant, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 15 October 1927.[6] 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.[7]

In the

Officer of the Order of the British Empire,[8] Later that year, he was selected to attend the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, 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.[9]

World War II

With the outbreak of

survey ship HMIS Investigator and was in charge of the local naval defence flotilla.[12][13] 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.[7]

In February 1941, Nott was appointed on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station Admiral Sir Ralph Leatham. The East Indies Station was headquartered at HMS Lanka in Colombo 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 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.[7] For good services in operations off the coast of Italian East Africa, he was mentioned in dispatches on 30 September 1941.[14] He was appointed Staff Officer (Operations) to the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf.[15] 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.[16] In September 1941, he moved to Naval headquarters as the Staff Officer (Plans).[2][17] During this tenure, on 28 May 1942, he was promoted to the substantive rank of commander.[7] He subsequently worked towards dealing with the menace of Japanese submarines in the Arabian Sea.[2]

On 1 January 1944, Nott was promoted to the acting rank of

Malacca Strait.[19] 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.[2][20] After the Surrender of Japan, the Narbada sailed to Andaman waters and Nott accepted the surrender of the Japanese Brigadier in command of the Car Nicobar garrison onboard the ship.[19]

Post-war career

In mid-1945, Nott moved to Karachi as the Naval Officer-in-Charge (NOIC), based out of HMIS Monze.

Rear Admiral Arthur Rullion Rattray.[2] 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.[19][4] On 31 May 1947, he was promoted to the substantive rank of captain.[7][23]

Post-Independence

After the

Motor launch ML 420. The force was under the command of Commander Ram Dass Katari
.

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 to head the plans directorate and Lieutenant Commander Nilakanta Krishnan as staff officer (plans).[25] The plans paper Outline Plan for the Reorganisation and Development of the Indian Navy visualised four roles for the Navy:[26]

  • 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 carriers, three cruisers, eight destroyers, four submarines and "such smaller ships as were necessary for training and auxiliary purposes."[19] It also envisioned the formation of two fleets, each to be built around a light fleet carrier.[26] As a result of the first phase of his plan, the Leander-class cruiser HMS Achilles (70) was acquired in 1948 and christened INS Delhi (C74). Three destroyers - HMS Rotherham (H09), HMS Redoubt (H41) and HMS Raider (H15) were also acquired and renamed INS Rajput (D141), INS Ranjit (1949) and INS Rana (D115).[19][2]

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.[1]

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 flight. The Vickers VC.1 Viking 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.[25] 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.[27] His vision of a two-fleet navy became a reality in 1971, when the Eastern Fleet was formed.[28]

The

Major General S. M. Shrinagesh were in attendance.[29] After Nott's death, Commodore Ajitendu Chakraverti 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.[30] The Naval headquarters awards an annual Commodore Nott prize for the best essay on naval matters.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Register". Retrieved 1 October 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "DEATH OF COMMODORE NOTT" (PDF). archive.pib.gov.in. 3 April 1948.
  3. ^ "Page 522 | Issue 33014, 25 January 1925 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  4. ^ a b Singh 1991.
  5. ^ "World War II unit histories & officers". www.unithistories.com.
  6. ^ "Page 8248 | Issue 33340, 23 December 1927 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Career of Captain Martin Henry St Ledger Nott, OBE, DSO, RIN (1904-1948). (RIN/42). National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London: The Royal Indian Navy Association.
  8. ^ "Page 7 | Supplement 34469, 31 December 1937 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  9. ^ "(403) - Navy lists > Monthly > 1939 > September - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk.
  10. ^ "(791) - Navy lists > Monthly > 1939 > December - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk.
  11. ^ "(1012) - Navy lists > Monthly > 1940 > June - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk.
  12. ^ "(110) - Navy lists > Bimonthly > 1940 > October - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk.
  13. ^ "(1169) - Navy lists > Bimonthly > 1940 > October - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk.
  14. ^ "Page 5639 | Issue 35289, 26 September 1941 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  15. ^ "Royal Navy, East Indies Station war despatches, 1940-41". www.naval-history.net.
  16. ^ "Page 1106 | Supplement 35481, 6 March 1942 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  17. ^ "(1026) - Navy lists > Bimonthly > 1942 > April - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk.
  18. ^ "(1123) - Navy lists > Quarterly > 1945 > January > Volume 3 - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk.
  19. ^ a b c d e Singh 1986.
  20. ^ "Page 3558 | Supplement 37170, 6 July 1945 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  21. ^ "(1130) - Navy lists > Quarterly > 1945 > July > Volume 3 - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk.
  22. ^ "(167) - Navy lists > Quarterly > 1945 > July > Volume 1 - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk.
  23. ^ "Page 3983 | Issue 38052, 22 August 1947 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  24. ^ Nanda 2015.
  25. ^ a b Krishnan 2014.
  26. ^ a b c Hiranandani 1999.
  27. ^ Katari 1983.
  28. ^ "NAVY EASTERN FLEET FORMED ADM SARMA PLACED IN COMMAND" (PDF).
  29. ^ "PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU (DEFENCE WING)" (PDF). archive.pib.gov.in. 8 April 1948.
  30. ^ "PIB (Defence Wing)" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in.

Bibliography

Military offices
New title
First holder
 Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff
(as Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, RIN)
1947–1948 		Succeeded by
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