Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some 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, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

Sir Walter Thomas Couchman, (19 March 1905 – 2 May 1981) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

officer who served as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff from February to November 1960, when he retired from service.

Early life

The son of Malcolm Edward Couchman, a civil servant in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, and Emily Elizabeth Ranking, Walter Couchman was born in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

in 1905. Educated at the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course last ...

, Couchman joined the

and specialized in naval aviation,Obituary:Admiral Sir Walter Couchman
/ref> after training at the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

, Dartmouth.

Naval career

Couchman attended staff college at 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 ...

in 1928 and qualified as a naval pilot in 1935. He served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

as Commander in the Air Materials Division and then as Commanding Officer of the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

. In 1941 he was appointed Staff Officer (Plans) for the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

. Later in the War he became Naval Assistant (Underwater Weapons) and then Chief Staff Officer to the Flag Officer Air (Home). After the War he became Captain of the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

and then, from 1947, Director of Naval Air Organisation and Training at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He went on to be

Flag Officer, Flying Training The Flag Officer, Flying Training, later called Flag Officer Naval Flying Training, was a senior Royal Navy appointment responsible for all naval aviation flying training from 1945 to 1970. History Vice-Admiral Lumley Lyster held the post of Flag ...

in 1951, in which role he led the Fleet Air Arm flypast of 327 aircraft at the Coronation review of the fleet, flying a de Havilland Sea Vampire. He was then appointed Flag Officer, Heavy Squadron in 1953, Flag Officer, Aircraft Carriers in 1954 and Deputy Controller of Supplies (Air) at the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for airc ...

in 1955. He became Flag Officer, Air (Home) in 1957 and Vice Chief of the Naval Staff in 1960. He retired in November 1960.

Family

He married Phyllida Connellan; they had a son and two daughters. Following the dissolution of his first marriage, he married Hughe Thelma Hunter Blair née Reid in 1965. After the death of Hughe in 1972, he married Daphne Harvey, the widow of a naval captain.

References

External links

* - photograph of Couchman on promotion to admiral in 1959, seated in the cockpit of a Hawker Sea Hawk. {{DEFAULTSORT:Couchman, Walter 1905 births 1981 deaths People from Chennai Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Navy officers of World War II Lords of the Admiralty People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne Military personnel of British India British people in colonial India