Delhi Durbar, 1911
At the Delhi Durbar of 1911, he was in charge of the Naval Contingent Camp. [16] Here, he was in command of Lascars and Stokers of the RIM. To them was entrusted the duty of dealing with the Royal Standard at all ceremonies, while two men under a petty officer were continually at the King's Camp to see that the flag “flew clear.” [17]
The lofty flagstaff used at the Durbar was designed by Captain Lumsden, Director of the Royal Indian Marine, and made at the Bombay Dockyard, as was also the great Standard flown from this mast, which measured thirty-six by eighteen feet.
The duties of the contingent were to form Guards of Honour for King George V at the following functions :- State Entry, Foundation Stone of All-India Memorial Ceremony, Durbar, Review and State Departure. [18]
WWI
As the Marine Transport Officer, Indian Expeditionary Force, East Africa, he was part of the landing and evacuation operations during the Battle of Tanga. [19] For the evacuation, timed to start on a rising tide, at 1 pm. Cdr Headlam had assembled 30 Ship' boats, manned by volunteers. At 3:20 pm the evacuation was complete. [20]
"All military transport afloat, i.e., hired transport, tugs, lighters, etc., are under the orders of Commander E. J. Headlam, Royal Indian Marine, Marine Transport Officer, I.E.F. East Africa."- Addendum to Operation Order No. 1 dated 1 Nov 1914, by Maj Gen A E Aitken. [20]
On 18th Dec 1914, he made a feint of landing at Moa, and went on to Manza Bay, where he made prizes of some small crafts. He was commanding transport ships Barjora and Rheinfels, carrying a company of the 63rd PLI and a section of the 28th Mountain Battery of the Royal Artillery. [20]
Evolution of Royal Indian Marine
Indian Mercantile Marine Committee
On 12th Jan 1922 the Indian Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution moved by Sir P S Sivaswami Iyer. On 3rd Feb 1923 Indian Mercantile Marine Committee was appointed to consider and report what measures could be taken to further the objectives of the resolution, [24] which were:
- to recognise the need for the training of Indians for nautical careers and encouraging the creation of an Indian Mercantile Marine.
- to accept the policy and measures recommended by the Indian Mercantile Marine Committee.
- to take early steps for the training of Indians in a suitable training ship in Indian waters, for the provision of facilities for future training as apprentices in our mercantile marine ships, and for their employment after completion of their training.
- to arrange from the establishment of primary nautical schools in selected marine stations, and the introduction of Marine Engineering as a subject of instruction in the Engineering College at Sibpur. and
- to announce his intention to adopt in the near future a system of licensing in respect of the coastal trade of India.
The committee was presided by Capt. Headlam, and consisted of Sir Arthur H Froom, Lalubhai Samaldas, Jadu Nath Roy, Sir John Biles, and Diwan Bahadur Tiruvenkata Rangachariar. J H Green served as secretary. [25]
Committee had important observations and recommendations.
- The repeal of the Indian Coasting Trade Act of 1860. [26]
"We are of opinion that in the interests of the growth of an Indian Meroontile Marine it is necessary to dose the coasting trade of this country to shins belonging to the subjects of foreign nations"
- Regarding training and apprenticeship, the committee observed. [26]
It is our considered opinion that the provision of facilities for the training of Indian officers and engineers alone is not sufficient to meet the requirements of the case and that some further steps are required to achieve the object in view. These further steps, we recommend, should be in the form of the eventual reservation of the Indian coasting trade for ships the ownership and controlling interests in which are predominantly Indian.
- The Committee added that for the fulfillment of these conditions a ship should conform to the following conditions; [26]
- Ship should be registered in India.
- It should be owned and managed by an individual Indian or by a Joint Stock Company (public or private) which is registered in India with rupee capital, with a majority of Indians on the Directorate and with a majority of its shares held by Indians.
- Management of such company is predominantly in the hand of Indians.
- The Committee recognised that the Royal Indian Marine should be reorganised into an Indian Navy for the defence of India's coast, harbours, and shipping. [27]
- That a training ship on the lines of the Worcester or the Conway should be established at Bombay to train young Indians to be- come Sea-officers. [27]
Rawlinson Committee
Based on the recommendations of the Headlam Committee's report another independent committee was set up for "the reorganization of the Royal Indian Marine". The committee convened in Feb 1925 and was presided by Gen Lord Rawlinson. Headlam was also part of this committee. The goal was to draw up a scheme for the purpose of putting into effect a policy to "The reconstruction of the Royal Indian Marine as a combatant force, to enable India to enter upon the first stage of her own naval development, and ultimately to undertake her own naval defence". [28]
The Indian Navy Bill and the Indian Navy (Discipline) Act 1934
Based upon the previous two committee reports, the Indian Navy bill was tabled in the British parliament on 2 Mar 1927. After much debate, the Bill was passed on the third reading in the House of Commons, and on the second reading in the House of Lords, on 5 and 28 April respectively. The bill received royal assent on 29 June, and became the Government of India (Indian Navy) Act 1927 (17 & 18 Geo. 5. c. 8). [29]
The act empowered the Indian Legislature to enact and adapt the Indian Navy (Discipline) Act, 1934, which assented to by the Viceroy on 8 Sep 1934. [30]
On 2 October 1934 at Bombay, the Royal Indian Marine ceased to exist and the Royal Indian Navy was inaugurated. [31]
Writings
A New Island in the Bay of Bengal, The Geographical Journal, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Apr., 1907) [39]
The History of the Royal Indian Marine, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 77, No. 3985 (APRIL 5th, 1929), pp. 519–540 (22 pages) [40] [41]
The Royal Indian Navy, History of the Government Sea Service in India from the earliest time.
- Part 1 [42]
- Part 2 [43]
- Part 3 [43]
- Part 4 [44]
Report of the Indian Mercantile Marine Committee, 1923-24 [45]
The Rawlinson Committee Report. [46]
Vice-Admiral Sir Humphrey Thomas Walwyn, was an officer of the Royal Navy, who served during the Second Boer War and First World War, and was the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Indian Navy from 1928 until his retirement in 1934. He then served as Governor of Newfoundland from 1936, throughout the Second World War, until 1946.
Alfred William Alcock was a British physician, naturalist, and carcinologist.
The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India.
Maritime powers in the Indian subcontinent have possessed navies for many centuries. Indian dynasties such as the Chola Empire used naval power to extend their influence overseas, particularly to Southeast Asia. The Marakkar Navy under Zamorins during 15th century and the Maratha Navy of the Maratha Confederacy during the 19th and 18th centuries fought with rival Indian powers and European powers. The East India Company organised its own private navy, which came to be known as the Bombay Marine. With the establishment of the British Raj after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the small navy was transformed into "His Majesty's Indian Navy", then "Her Majesty's Indian Marine", and finally the "Royal Indian Marine".
The Indian Maritime University - Kolkata Campus (formerly known as the Marine Engineering and Research Institute (MERI) and the Directorate of Marine Engineering Training (DMET)) is a post-secondary institution in India specialising in marine engineering.
The Royal Indian Navy mutiny or revolt, also called the 1946 Naval Uprising, is a failed insurrection of Indian naval ratings, soldiers, police personnel and civilians against the British government in India. From the initial flashpoint in Bombay, the revolt spread and found support throughout British India, from Karachi to Calcutta, and ultimately came to involve over 10,000 sailors in 56 ships and shore establishments. The mutiny failed to turn into a revolution because sailors were asked to surrender after the British authorities had assembled superior forces to suppress the mutiny.
Admiral Ram Dass Katari was an Indian Navy Admiral who served as the 3rd Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) from 22 April 1958 to 4 June 1962. He was the first Indian to hold the office and succeeded the last British officer to the post, Vice Admiral Sir Stephen Hope Carlill.
Admiral Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman was an Indian Navy Admiral. He was in command of the Indian Navy from 1962 to 1966 as the 4th Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS).
Admiral Sir Geoffrey John Audley Miles, KCB, KCSI was a senior Royal Navy admiral who served as Deputy Naval Commander, South East Asia Command under Lord Mountbatten during the Second World War, as the Senior British Representative on the Tripartite Naval Commission and as the last Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy of the unified Royal Indian Navy.
Admiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji 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 the rank of full Admiral. He is credited with the transformation of the Indian Navy. He made sweeping changes and restructured the navy, creating the Western and Eastern Naval Commands and the Western Fleet. Under him, the Indian Navy also entered the submarine age, with the commissioning of INS Kalvari (S23) in 1967.
Admiral Jal Cursetji, PVSM was a former Flag Officer in the Indian Navy. He served as the 8th Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) from 1 March 1976 until 28 February 1979. He was the first hydrographer to serve as the CNS.
Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan, PVSM, DSC, was a former flag officer in the Indian Navy. He was the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.
Shah Ardaseer was built at Bombay, probably in 1786. English transliterations of her name show her as Shah or Shaw + Adaseer, or Ardaseer, or Ardasier, or Adasier, or Ardasheer, or Ardeseer, or Ardesir. A fire on 13 September 1809 at Bombay burnt her. She then may have been recovered, repaired, and enlarged to become the hulk HMS Arrogant, which was moved to Trincomalee in 1822 and sold there in 1842.
Vice Admiral Sree Harilal Sarma, PVSM was an Indian Navy admiral who served as Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF) during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He later served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command from 1 March 1977 to 2 February 1978.
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 Commodore in the Royal Indian Navy.
Vice Admiral Vasudeva Anant Kamath, PVSM (1921–2017) was a former Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He was the founding Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, which he led from 1978 to 1980. He also served as the 4th Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) from 1973 to 1977, the longest tenure in the Indian Navy's history. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he led the Southern Naval Area, for which he was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.
Vice-Admiral John Thomas Goslin Pereira PVSM, AVSM was a decorated Indian Navy admiral and naval engineer.
Rear Admiral Sadashiv Ganesh Karmarkar, was a flag officer in the Indian Navy. He was the first Indian officer to command a ship of the Royal Indian Navy. During World War II, he commanded the auxiliary patrol vessel HMIS Ratnagiri, for which he was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). He later became the first Indian to command British officers, when he commanded the sloop HMIS Kistna. He last served as the Flag Officer Bombay, from 1960 to 1964, before retiring.
Commodore Martin Henry St. Leger Nott, DSO, OBE was an Officer in the Royal Indian Navy. He was the first Chief of Staff 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 Corsica, France, at the age of 43.
HMS Angora was a British passenger ship which was requisitioned from the Mercantile Marine by the Royal Navy for service as a transport and auxiliary minelayer during World War I.
