Ian Gourlay
Sir Ian Gourlay | |
---|---|
Born | Chorlton, Lancashire, England | 13 November 1920
Died | 17 July 2013 London, England | (aged 92)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Marines |
Years of service | 1940–1975 |
Rank | General |
Commands | Commandant General Royal Marines (1971–75) 3 Commando Brigade (1966–68) 42 Commando (1963–65) |
Battles/wars | Second World War Cyprus Emergency Suez Crisis Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches |
General Sir Basil Ian Spencer Gourlay, KCB, CVO, OBE, MC (13 November 1920 – 17 July 2013) was a Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 1971 to 1975.
Early life
Gourlay was born on 13 November 1920 to Brigadier K. I. Gourlay and Victoria May Gourlay (née Oldrini). He was educated at Eastbourne College, an independent school in Eastbourne, East Sussex.[1]
Military career
Gourlay was commissioned into the Royal Marines in 1940.[2] His commission was confirmed on 20 January 1942 and he was given seniority in the rank of lieutenant from 14 June 1941.[3] He served on the aircraft carrier HMS Formidable,[4] with which he saw active service in the Arctic, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean between 1941 and 1944.[1] Promoted to acting captain on 16 June 1944,[5] he served in 43 Commando in Yugoslavia and Italy from 1944 to 1945.[1] He was awarded the Military Cross for his actions fighting at Šolta in the Dalmatian Islands in 1944.[6]
Promoted to captain on 15 June 1949,[7] he was appointed Commanding Officer of 42 Commando in 1963, Colonel on the General Staff of the Commandant General Royal Marines in 1965 and Commander of 3 Commando Brigade in 1966. He went on to be Commander, Training Group Royal Marines in 1968[4] and Commandant General Royal Marines in 1971[1] before being promoted to general on 1 November 1973.[8] He was described by Lord Mountbatten, who had been Colonel Commandant of the Royal Marines, as "the best Commandant General the Royal Marines had ever had".[9]
He retired from the Royal Marines on 9 June 1975.[10]
Later life
In retirement, Gourlay became Director-General of the United World Colleges, serving from 1975 to 1990. He had been convinced to take up the position by Lord Mountbatten during the end of his time in the Royal Marines.[11]
He died on 17 July 2013.[12]
Personal life
In 1948, Gourlay married Natasha Zinovieff; they have one son and one daughter.[4] Lady Gourlay died in 2018 at the age of 97.[13]
Honours and decorations
In January 1957, it was gazetted that Gourlay had been mentioned in despatches "for distinguished services in operations against terrorist in Cyprus".[14]
In the 1957 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "in recognition of distinguished services in the Operations in the Near East, October To December, 1956".[15] In the 1973 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB).[16] In the 1990 New Year Honours, he was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO).[17]
References
- ^ a b c d "GOURLAY, Gen. Sir (Basil) Ian (Spencer)". Who's Who 2013. A & C Black. November 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ "GOURLAY, Sir (Basil) Ian Spencer (born 1920), General". Survey of the Papers of Senior UK Defence Personnel, 1900–1975. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ "No. 35479". The London Gazette. 6 March 1942. p. 1064.
- ^ a b c Debrett's People of Today 1994
- ^ "No. 38635". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1949. p. 2852.
- ^ "Obituary: General Sir Ian Gourlay". The Times. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ "No. 38652". The London Gazette. 28 June 1949. p. 3182.
- ^ "No. 46138". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 November 1973. p. 14082.
- ^ Peterson, Alexander Duncan Campbell (2003). Schools across frontiers : the story of the international Baccalaureate and the United World Colleges (2 ed.). Chicago, Ill.: Open Court Publishing. p. 124. ISBN 9780812695052.
- ^ "No. 46582". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 May 1975. p. 6830.
- ^ "Sir Ian Gourlay". United World Colleges. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ Telegraph Announcements
- ^ Gourlay
- ^ "No. 40987". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 January 1957. pp. 653–654.
- ^ "No. 41092". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1957. pp. 3415–3416.
- ^ "No. 45984". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 May 1973. p. 6474.
- ^ "No. 51981". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1989. pp. 3–4.
External links
- 1920 births
- 2013 deaths
- British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency
- British military personnel of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
- British military personnel of the Suez Crisis
- Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order
- Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- People educated at Eastbourne College
- Recipients of the Military Cross
- Royal Marines generals
- Royal Marines personnel of World War II
- Military personnel from Lancashire