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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, 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 was also an admiral. Their sister, Mary Gaunt, was a well-known author in Australia and wrote several travel books. Guy was educated at Melbourne Grammar School 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 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 to the United States, and was instrumental in infiltrating the Hindu–German Conspiracy during the First World War. Gaunt headed the intelligence network operated by Courtenay Bennett's intelligence and liaised with the Czech intelligence network operated by
E. V. Voska Emanuel Viktor Voska (1875 in Kutná Hora, Bohemia – April 1, 1960 in Ruzyně prison in Prague, Czechoslovakia) was an U.S. intelligence agency officer in World War I and World War II. Before and during World War I he worked extensively with Tom ...
. 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 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 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 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, he was unable to hold the seat.Debrett's House of Commons, 1922 Gaunt was elected as Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) for the Buckrose constituency in the East Riding of Yorkshire at the 1922 general election, replacing the Liberal Algernon Moreing. Gaunt resigned from the House of Commons in 1926, when he was cited as co-respondent 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. 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 on 18 May 1953 and was cremated. Gaunt's autobiography, ''The Yield of the Years'', was published in 1940. His brother Ernest Gaunt was also an admiral in the Royal Navy; his sister, Mary Gaunt, was a novelist.


References


Bibliography

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External links

* * {{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