Gerard Muirhead-Gould

Rear-Admiral Gerard Charles Muirhead-Gould, (29 May 1889 – 26 June 1945) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Early life and career Muirhead-Gould was born in London on 29 May 1889, the son of Arthur Lewis Gould and Emily Gertrude Lilias Muirhead. He joined the Royal Naval Cadets in January 1904. During the First World War, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, a Chevalier (Knight) of the French Legion of Honour and a Chevalier of the Greek Order of the Redeemer. The sinking of British battleship on 14 October 1939, while at anchor in Scapa Flow 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. Muirhead-Gould, then a commander, was one of the three senior officers on the Board. He was the senior Allied officer during the relatively-unsuccessful Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour. He did not take the reports of enemy submarines seriously and reportedly said: "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 and 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 (MI6) although nothing came of that.

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. His command was renamed Flag Officer, Western Germany. There, he suffered a fatal heart attack on 26 June 1945. Gerard Charles Muirhead-Gould was the 13th and last laird of Bredisholm (Scotland).