Harold Goulding

Harold Goulding
Born	Harold Wilkinson Goulding 1903/08/21 West Hartlepool
Died	1945/08/04 (Age 41)
Cause of death	"Of illness"
Nationality	British
Victim of	• premature death • unexplained death
Interest of	Laurence de Mello
Decorated wartime hero, Commander of the Special Boat Unit Headquarters. Died age 41 or 42 "of illness" just after the end of WW2.  ??? In office 14 June 1945 - 4 August 1945 Employer Naval Control Service? "HMS Cochrane II (supply & accounting base for tenders, Rosyth) (for duty with Naval Officer-in-Charge, Methil)"  Commodore of Coastal Convoys In office 17 April 1945 - 16 May 1945 Employer Naval Control Service This may be just a cover story.  Commander of the Special Boat Unit Headquarters In office 1944 Employer Special Boat Service Preceded by Harold Goulding Succeeded by Harold Goulding He held this post on 31st March 1944. Start and end dates unknown.  Chief Training Officer In office 31 January 1941 - 6 August 1943 On Hayling Island.  Miscellaneous duties In office 13 June 1940 - October 1940 HMS Lynx, Dover

Background

Goulding was born in 1903 or 1904 to Harold and Alice Goulding in West Hartlepool. His father had served with distinction in World War I as a Warrant Officer First Class and gaining the Meritorious Service Award. He attended West Brougham school. He married in 1926 and had one son. He "follow[ed] the sea since boyhood, chiefly in merchant ships, and so successful was his career that he had command of his first vessel at the age of 25".

Wartime activities

Goulding worked mainly or exclusively under the Special Boat Service, particularly in a range of positions at HMS Northney (Hayling Island). Goulding's service record was probably deliberately obfuscated in order to provide cover for him while he undertook top secret missions. What does seem clear is that he distinguished himself as outstanding in his energy, skill at both sailing and as a manager and his coolness under enemy fire. Typical of testimonials was Captain Slocum's report of him as "a first class seaman and navigator, and an exceptionally able pilot in Channel Ports and waters".

Chief Training Officer

From 31st January 1941, a document suggests that Goulding was Chief Training Officer On Hayling Island (HMS Northney). He was a very active member of SSRF and may have been important in establishing this group. He carried out a large number of secret missions against the French coast.

"The only common factor in these operations was the provision by Slocum of a specialist navigating and conducting officer in each case Lt. H.W. Goulding DSO, RNR. who knew the channel coast intimately and Lt. Cdr J.W.F. Milner Gibson DSC RNR. Between them carried the responsibility for navigating and conducting clandestine cross-Channel operations by high speed craft for S.I.S. S.O.E. and the Commandos until September 1941."

In 1941 Goulding was awarded the DSO for "outstanding fearlessness and resource on special service". He is mentioned in Time Magazine.

Operation Jubilee

Goulding was mentioned in dispatches as the "Senior Landing Officer" for Blue Beach during the disastrous 1942 raid on Dieppe. Reports indicate that a mistake of Lieutenant J. I. Lloyd delayed the landing by 15 minutes when the boats were forming up, after which "[Goulding']s actions resulted in further delay". The delay of the Blue beach landing of the 13th Canadian Infantry Division is reckoned to have greatly aggravated the casualties. John Ainsworth-Davis claims to have witnessed the massacre from the German perspective in Op JB, and that the massacre was not a mistake, but planned in order to help establish his credibility.

Commander of the Special Boat Unit Headquarters

Captain Chambers recommended Goulding for promotion in this way: "An outstanding officer. A great leader. A good organiser. Handles men well. His great knowledge of every part of the French coast has been used to great advantage in Night raiding by Landing Craft. In a great many raids he has personally led in the craft. This officer is very strongly recommended in all ways as being fitted for higher rank. Very loyal keen and hardworking. Has an exceptional energy." Louis Mountbatten endorsed this by adding " I fully concur. This officer is outstanding and fully worth immediate promotion."

A document from the national archives confirms that on 31st March, 1944, Goulding signed an order as "Commander of the Special Boat Unit Headquarters".

1944 Travel

On 25 June, 1944 Brigadier John Durnford-Slater gave Goulding authorisation to return to UK (presumably from France) "on urgent Liaison duties". On 24 October 1944, Robert Laycock gave Goulding authorisation to carry "top secret papers" to Italy by air.

Close of WW2

Paperwork states that Goulding worked for 40 days for the Naval Control Service, Cardiff as "Commodore of Coastal Convoys" until one week after the World War II ended in Europe. This service was intended to provide merchant ships safe routes and give them a safe rendezvous with convoys.

Concerns

Cardiff seems like an unexpected base from which to use "his great knowledge of every part of the French coast" as noted by Captain Chambers. Moreover, as of May 2015, out of 38 Google hits for "Naval Control Service" and "Cardiff", none had these terms in conjunction. Also, others who held this office did so for a few years, rather than just 40 days.

Alternative possibility

It is possible that Goulding never was "Commodore of Coastal Convoys", but that this paperwork was issued as cover to hide the fact he was undertaking a secret assignment. These dates fit pretty closely with John Ainsworth-Davis' claim that a small group of the most skilled men available (which would surely have included Goulding, given his seniority and record of excellence) on Operation James Bond. In this case, Cardiff may have been chosen as being close enough to the French coast not to have appeared as a non-sequitur, but far enough from his friends and acquaintances on the South Coast to have proved credible as far as they were concerned.

After WW2

On 14 June 1945, Goulding was apparently posted to HMS Cochrane II, the Rosyth supply and accounting base for tenders.

Death

The commonwealth war graves site lists Harold Wilkinson Goulding died on 4 August 1945 (age 41). A website listing Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) Officers indicates that he "died of illness". The Northern Daily Mail of 6 August 1945 reports that he "died in hospital at Edinburgh", aged 42, but provides no further details, not even a date.

Concerns

He was a close friend of Herbert Hasler, who was influential in the development of the post-war formation of the Special Boat Service. Goulding was very possibly at least as influential, although records of him are remarkably thin on the ground.

Harold Goulding's granddaughter reports that his wife had extreme difficulty getting a war pension - reportedly it took decades. This seems incongruous for such a high ranking and celebrated hero.

His surname was quite possibly misspelled on the death certificate since his name was misspelled in the CWGC records as "Gouldin", being corrected only after his granddaughter pointed the matter out.

 

Event Participated in

Event	Start	End	Description
WW2/Dieppe Raid	19 August 1942	19 August 1942	A WW2 raid on Dieppe which thousands of men were killed or captured.

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.

References

This is a page stub. Please add to it.