Midshipman diaries two volumes by Lieutenant Richard Coultart 1929-1933
COULTART, Lieutenant Richard – Midshipman Journals (two Volumes with a signed photo)
*A detailed set of handwritten journals by a young British Navy Cadet whilst serving on the HMS Nelson between 1929-33*
The two journals that Coultart completed were requisitioned from H.M. Stationary Office in London; they are 4to in size, half cloth binding, with fabric covered boards; there is a leather label, with gilt lettering on both; on the title page it states ‘journal for the use of midshipmen and sea going navy cadets’, then from the next page it is ruled and lined in a journal format for completion by the cadet; Coultart had a busy time of things and was diligent with his record keeping, he completed in his own hand 259 pages with 50 hand painted inserts of ships, maps and diagrams in volume 1, and 137 pages with 33 inserts in volume 2; overall Coultart’s journals stretch to 396 pages and 83 tipped in pages of illustrations; The first volume is in excellent condition, with a damp patch to the bottom of the second page and a couple of tears otherwise it is very well preserved, the second volume has some marks and wear to the upper board; overall a journals are in very good condition and are accompanied by a fine photograph of Coultart, signed by the photographer in pencil, who worked for Navana Ltd in New Bond Street London; also tucked into the front is Coultart’s commission certificate, signed by dignitaries including King George; this certificate is folded; overall an excellent set of documents and journals.
Midshipmen and sea faring cadets were required by the British Navy to keep journals during their training. The premise behind it was to demonstrate to the leadership on their vessel that they were demonstrating three core attributes. These were a) the power of observation b) the power of expression and c) the habit of orderliness. The captain and lieutenant commander of the HMS Nelson supervised sea cadet Coultart here, signing each insert on the reverse and then commenting through the journal. At one point the Lieutenant commander questioned Coultart on his statement that it was a quiet day, with the response ‘what about us firing torpedoes?’.
The opening page of the journals has Coultart arrive in Portsmouth for his first day aboard the HMS Nelson. His life on board was full of activity, of routine and discipline. There was a lot of notable incidents too from the get-go including him playing rugby offshore in Inverness with an England rugby international called Wallace Eyres, who had just played in the five nations against Ireland; and then a couple of weeks later meeting the first lord of the admiralty A V Alexander, who was welcomed aboard to a seventeen-gun salute.
His first few weeks aboard then took a dark turn where he described an unfortunate incident of a fellow seaman falling overboard, trying to attend to guard rails. He described a scene of a party of lifeboats and destroyers searching for him, but he was pronounced dead by night fall. He recalled how the officers and men of the ship, gave the seaman a send-off to ‘the last post’.
The unfortunate journal entries came thick and fast, when the Nelson returned to Portsmouth, Coultart witnessed a steamer called the Forester become distressed outside of Portland and saw crew members jump from the vessel along with a young stowaway, but all were picked up. The Forester apparently according to witnesses, abandoned and stricken cut across the Royal Navy’s battleships, before sinking.
The HMS Nelson then in February of 1930 received an SOS from a Greek cargo ship the SS Fogo. Coultart explained in detail in his journal what happened and how, Nelson had abandoned its response, due to another ship being closer by, only to come across three lifeboats with the entire crew of the Fogo drifting towards them. He described the captain coming aboard along with a seriously burnt man. He painted the moment they discovered the lifeboats for posterity, and this has been tipped into the journal.
Coultart also gave an account of perhaps the two most significant moments of his time spent on the Nelson, both occurring in 1931. The first was a bizarre incident in Spain, where, in deep fog, during a normal day of training activities and drills, the Nelson collided with a Spanish trading vessel. This translated into a mess, with the Nelson needing to go for repairs. The second was to do with the Invergordon mutiny. Many of the ordinary seaman on the decks were deeply unhappy with receiving the news that their pay would be cut, due to a decision made by the admiralty. After being given their usual orders of drills and practice, many of the seamen revolted, and said no. It led to a terse stand-off between the officers and men. Coultart wrote carefully about what was said from both sides, including from the admiralty.
The journals show in detail just how full of danger life in the British Navy was for a sea cadet and midshipman. Coultart recorded in detail death, destruction, ships being destroyed, rescues and mutiny, but above all a sense of adventure and of learning his dues as an officer. He travelled with the Nelson to the Caribbean, Spain, Gibraltar, Europe and around the UK, in only a matter of 2 or 3 years, and displayed all the attributes that the journals were looking to obtain from him.
Coultart would go on to become a midshipman, and then received his commission certificate, that sits in the front of one of the journals, to be a sub lieutenant.
Coultart rose to the rank of Lieutenant and served the navy diligently, as his careful and well put together journals suggested he would. Until one fateful day, when in command of H49, he left for the Dutch coast for a patrol off the Texel. His submarine was sunk following a depth charge attack by German submarine chasers and a talented life was cut short at 28. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.