Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Gerard Charles Muirhead-Gould, (29 May 1889 – 26 June 1945) was an officer of the
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 F ...
.
Early life and career
Muirhead-Gould was born in London on 29 May 1889,
[Taylor 2003] the son of Arthur Lewis Gould and Emily Gertrude Lilias Muirhead. He joined the Royal Naval Cadets in January 1904.
[Grose 2007, p. 85.] During the First World War, he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries.
*Distinguished Service Cross (Australia)
*Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
*Distinguished Service Cross (U ...
, a Chevalier (Knight) of the French
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
and a Chevalier of the Greek
Order of the Redeemer
The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...
.
[ Between 1933 and 1936, Muirhead-Gould was a member of the Naval Intelligence Division, assigned to the British Embassy in ]Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.[ During this time he kept ]Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
informed of the German military buildup, particularly in relation to the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
and the later Anglo-German Naval Agreement
The Anglo-German Naval Agreement (AGNA) of 18 June 1935 was a naval agreement between the United Kingdom and Germany regulating the size of the '' Kriegsmarine'' in relation to the Royal Navy.
The Anglo-German Naval Agreement fixed a ratio wher ...
.[
]
Second World War
During the Second World War, a heart condition prevented Muirhead-Gould from going to sea.[Grose 2007, p. 262.] The sinking of British battleship on 14 October 1939, while at anchor in Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009
Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...
, by resulted in an Admiralty Board of Inquiry into how a submarine could have penetrated the harbour's defences, and what could be done to prevent a recurrence.[Grose 2007, p. 15.] Muirhead-Gould, then a commander, was one of the three senior officers on the Board.[
In February 1940, Muirhead-Gould became the Naval Officer In Command of ]Sydney Harbour
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...
, a posting that lasted until September 1944, although he was not popular among the officers and sailors of the Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
under his command.[Grose 2007, p. 86.] He was the senior Allied officer during the relatively unsuccessful Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour
In late May and early June 1942, during World War II, Imperial Japanese Navy submarines made a series of attacks on the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle. On the night of 31 May – 1 June, three ''Ko-hyoteki''-class midget submarine ...
. He did not take the reports of enemy submarines seriously, reportedly saying: "What are you all playing at, running up and down the harbour dropping depth charges and talking about enemy subs in the harbour? There's not one to be seen." The crew reiterated that a submarine had been seen, but Muirhead-Gould remained unconvinced and before he left, added sarcastically: "If you see another sub, see if the captain has a black beard. I'd like to meet him."
At some point Churchill considered Muirhead-Gould for the position of the Chief Director of the Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
(MI6), although nothing came of this.[
Muirhead-Gould's previous experience in Germany resulted in him being appointed Flag Officer, Wilhelmshaven in 1944 and he transferred in May 1945 to the captured German naval base at ]Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
.[ His command was renamed Flag Officer, Western Germany. There, he suffered a fatal ]heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
on 26 June 1945.[ Gerard Charles Muirhead-Gould was the 13th and last laird of Bredisholm (Scotland).
]
Notes
References
*
External links
*Richard Taylor
"The Royal Navy's Eyes and Ears in Nazi Berlin. The British war hero who shook Adm Raeder's hand"
published in "The Review", journal of the Naval Historical Collectors & Research Association, Winter 2003.
Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muirhead-Gould
1889 births
1945 deaths
Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
Military personnel from London
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
Royal Navy admirals of World War II
Royal Navy officers of World War I