Teddy Gueritz

Rear-Admiral Edward Findlay "Teddy" Gueritz, (8 September 1919 – 21 December 2008) was a long-serving Royal Navy officer. From D-Day, 6 June 1944, he served as beachmaster on Sword, organising the flow of men and materiel into the beachhead, including 30,000 troops on the first day. 19 days later he was severely wounded and evacuated to the United Kingdom where he required life-saving surgery. He had previously served in a similar role during Operation Ironclad, which captured Madagascar in 1942. He retired from the navy in 1973, and became an academic and author.

Early life and family Gueritz was born on 8 September 1919. He was educated at Cheltenham College, Gloucestershire, entering as an exhibitioner in 1933.

He was the son of Elton Laurence Gueritz, an officer of the Colonial Service and Eleanor Dixon Valentine Gueritz (née Findlay). He had three siblings, an elder brother and two older sisters. His brother, John Elton Fortescue Gueritz (born 1911), was an officer of the British Indian Army, subsequently working for the British Council in Tehran, and later became Secretary of the St. John Ambulance Association in the United Kingdom. His sister Lucy Valentine Gueritz (born 1915) married an Indian Army officer, Henry Gerard Burton. His other sister, Eleanor Elton Gueritz (born 1916) served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during the Second World War and married another Indian Army officer, William Richard Feaver.

Military career On leaving school he joined the Royal Navy as a special entry cadet in 1937. He was appointed to on 13 April 1938, and promoted to midshipman on 26 April 1938 (with seniority from 1 May).

Second World War Soon after the outbreak of the Second World War, he was a midshipman on the cruiser . The ship was refitting in the Falkland Islands at the start of the Battle of the River Plate but hurriedly rejoined the squadron commanded by Commodore Henry Harwood. The subsequent blockade resulted in the scuttling of the Admiral Graf Spee. and to commander on 31 December 1953. He served on the staff of General Sir Hugh Stockwell during the Suez Crisis of 1956. Within the seaman specialism, he was promoted to captain on 30 June 1959 on appointment as Deputy Director of the Royal Naval Staff College. He joined the Naval Staff at the Admiralty in 1961, attended Imperial Defence College in 1964 and became Captain of the Fleet for the Far East Fleet in 1965.

Later life Gueritz held a number of positions at the Royal United Services Institute. In the 1970s he also participated in an Anglo-German exercise which wargaming the plans for Operation Sea Lion, the proposed German invasion of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He also set questions for the TV quiz programme, Mastermind. From 1976 to 1979, he was editor of the RUSI Journal and from 1980 to 1981 was editor-in-chief. From 1980 to 1981, he was director of the institute.

He was a long-serving president of the Society for Nautical Research (1974–1991).

Honours and decorations On 25 August 1942, Gueritz was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross "for bravery and enterprise while serving in H.M. Ships, Transports and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries in the successful operations which led to the surrender of the important base of Diego Suarez". On 29 August 1944, he was awarded a Bar to his Distinguished Service Cross "for gallantry, skill, determination and undaunted devotion to duty during the initial landings of Allied Forces on the coast of Normandy".

In the 1957 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire "in recognition of distinguished services in the Operations in the Near East, October to December 1956". In the 1971 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).