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 Guy Reginald Archer Gaunt, (25 May 1869 – 18 May 1953)
was an Australian-born 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 ...
, counter-intelligence officer and a British
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
politician.
Gaunt was born in
Ballarat
Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...
, Australia, to William Henry Gaunt and his wife Elizabeth Mary Palmer. Gaunt's brother-in-law was
Alexander Stenson Palmer (banker and M.P. for Victoria). Gaunt's brother
Ernest Gaunt
Admiral 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, t ...
was also an admiral. Their sister,
Mary Gaunt
Mary Eliza Bakewell Gaunt (20 February 1861 – 19 January 1942) was an Australian novelist, born in Chiltern, Victoria. She also wrote collections of short stories, novellas, autobiographies, and non-fiction. She published her first novel ...
, was a well-known author in Australia and wrote several travel books. Guy was educated at
Melbourne Grammar School
(Pray and Work)
, established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation)
, type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding
, denominatio ...
from 1881 to 1883.
Naval career
Gaunt's parents wanted him to become a lawyer, but he chose to go to sea. He began training for the
merchant navy, but transferred to 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 ...
in 1885, one of the "hungry hundred" merchant navy officers who were commissioned via the supplementary list.
Gaunt served as a lieutenant on several vessels in the Pacific Ocean, and was promoted to the rank of
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.
...
in 1901. He became a
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in 1907, commanding a series of
cruisers and the
battleships
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
and . He saw action in the Philippines in 1897 and Samoa in 1901.
[
]
In 1914 Gaunt was appointed
naval attaché
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...
to the United States,
and was instrumental in infiltrating the
Hindu–German Conspiracy
The Indo–German Conspiracy (Note on the name) was a series of attempts between 1914 and 1917 by Indian nationalist groups to create a Pan-Indian rebellion against the British Empire during World War I. This rebellion was formulated betwee ...
during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Gaunt headed the intelligence network operated by
Courtenay Bennett's intelligence and liaised with the Czech intelligence network operated by
E. V. Voska. On learning of the plot from the Czech European network at the outbreak of the war, Voska passed on the information to Gaunt and to
Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (7 March 185014 September 1937) was a Czechoslovak politician, statesman, sociologist, and philosopher. Until 1914, he advocated restructuring the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a federal state. With the help of t ...
who further passed on the information the American authorities.
Voska's American network was a counter-espionage network of nearly 80 members who, as
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
subjects, were presumed to be German supporters but were involved in spying on German and Austrian diplomats.
When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, Gaunt was appointed as liaison officer. In 1918 he served on
convoys
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
across the Atlantic and in June was appointed to the naval intelligence staff at the Admiralty.
Gaunt was promoted on the retired list to rear admiral in October 1918,
vice admiral in July 1924 and
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, ...
in February 1928. He was knighted as in 1918.
Political career
Gaunt first stood as a candidate for parliament at the 1918 general election. He was the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
candidate for
Leek
The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...
and despite receiving the
Coalition Coupon
The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...
, he was unable to hold the seat.
[Debrett's House of Commons, 1922] Gaunt was elected as
Unionist Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for the
Buckrose constituency in the
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...
at the
1922 general election, replacing the Liberal
Algernon Moreing
Algernon Henry Moreing (30 September 1889 – 22 October 1974) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament for Buckrose 1918–22, and Camborne 1922-23 and 1924–29.
Early life
Moreing was born in September 1889, in London, En ...
.
Gaunt resigned from the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
in 1926, when he was cited as
co-respondent
In English law, a co-respondent is, in general, a respondent to a petition, or other legal proceeding, along with another or others, or a person called upon to answer in some other way. 7.4.19
Divorce
More particularly, since the Matrimonial C ...
in the divorce case between Sir Richard Cruise and his wife.
Family
Gaunt married a widow, Mrs Margaret Elizabeth Worthington (daughter of Sir Thomas Wardle) at Hong Kong in 1904.
She divorced him in 1927 following the scandal with Lady Cruise, and he retired to
Tangier
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
. He later remarried on 1 December 1932 a 35-year-old widow, Sybil Victoria Joseph, ''née'' Grant White and had two daughters. He returned to live in
Cobham,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
and died at
Woking Hospital
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
on 18 May 1953 and was cremated.
Gaunt's autobiography, ''The Yield of the Years'', was published in 1940. His brother
Ernest Gaunt
Admiral 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, t ...
was also an admiral in the Royal Navy; his sister,
Mary Gaunt
Mary Eliza Bakewell Gaunt (20 February 1861 – 19 January 1942) was an Australian novelist, born in Chiltern, Victoria. She also wrote collections of short stories, novellas, autobiographies, and non-fiction. She published her first novel ...
, was a novelist.
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaunt, Guy Reginald Archer
1869 births
1959 deaths
British autobiographers
British expatriates in Morocco
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Hindu–German Conspiracy
Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
People educated at Melbourne Grammar School
People from Cobham, Surrey
Royal Navy admirals
Royal Navy personnel of World War I
UK MPs 1922–1923
UK MPs 1923–1924
UK MPs 1924–1929
Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates