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 Ernest Frederick Augustus Gaunt, (25 March 1865 – 20 April 1940) was an Australian-born Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches.

Naval career

Gaunt was born in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia, the son of William Henry Gaunt and Elizabeth Mary Palmer. Gaunt joined the Royal Navy in 1878 at the age of 13. In 1881, he was a midshipman in HMS ''Wolverine'', by 1891 he was a lieutenant on ''Belleisle'', and by 1896 he was

1st Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

on the

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...

HMS ''Narcissus''. Promoted to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on 30 June 1898, Gaunt was, in 1898 and 1899, 1st Commissioner for Weihawei and Administrator for Liukungtao,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. In 1900, he was Commissioner and Superintending transport officer Weihawei, China, at the time of the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

. He was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list on 26 June 1902 for his services during the rebellion. In August 1901, he was appointed in command of the cruiser ''HMS Scout'', which served with 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 ...

and in June 1902 replaced HMS ''Harrier'' as special service vessel at Constantinople. The vessel visited

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

, the main seaport of Romania, in October 1902, then travelled on the Danube to

Galați Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most par ...

. He transferred to the HMS ''Mohawk'' in January 1903, as she replaced ''Scout'' on the Mediterranean station. In December 1903, he commanded a landing party from ''Mohawk'' at Durbo, on the coast of Italian Somaliland, where he was wounded."The Durbo Engagement". ''The Mercury''. Hobart, Tasmania. Wednesday, 9 December 1903. p. 5. In 1913, he became Commodore of the Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham, England, and in 1913 and 1914, he was aide-de-camp to King George V. In 1916, during World War I, he served as second-in-command of the 1st Battle Squadron at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

as Rear Admiral; his flagship was ''Colossus''. From 1917 to 1919 he was Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, and from 1921 to 1922 he was Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches. In 1925 he retired, and was knighted. He died in Chelsea, London.

Family

In 1899, he married Louise Geraldine Martyn of

Gregans Castle Gregans Castle is the name applied to both a 15th-century tower house and a Georgian architecture, Georgian-style house in the Burren region of County Clare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, near the village of Ballyvaughan. The latter dates fr ...

, near

Ballyvaughan Ballyvaughan or Ballyvaghan () is a small harbour village in County Clare, Ireland. It is located on the N67 road on the south shores of Galway Bay, in the northwest corner of The Burren. This position on the coast road and the close proximity ...

County Clare, Ireland County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 a ...

. His brother, Guy Gaunt, was also an Admiral of the Royal Navy, and later became a Conservative Member of Parliament. Their sister, Mary Gaunt, was a well-known author in Australia and wrote several travel books.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaunt, Ernest Frederick Augustus 1865 births 1940 deaths People educated at Melbourne Grammar School People from Beechworth Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy admirals of World War I Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Royal Navy personnel of the Boxer Rebellion