Ship Name Histories - Database of histories of ship names beginning with letter G.

Name Origin: Seagull.

Gabion

Name Origin: Cylinders of wickerwork, filled with earth and placed in rows as a shelter for troops in entrenched positions.

Name Origin: Light armed warrior in the old times.

Name Origin: Scotch river, generally known as Gala Water.  It rises in the Moorfoot Hills, Co. Edinburgh, and joins the Tweed close to Abbotsford.

Name Origin: Name of a quarter of Pera (Constantinople).

Galilee

Name Origin: Galilei, celebrated Italian mathematician and astronomer, founder of modern physics; born 1564, died 1642.  Besides many discoveries and inventions, such as the law of the pendulum, the hydrostatic scales, the thermometer in a primitive shape, etc., he made important discoveries in astronomy, and adopted and propagated the Copernican theory of the revolution of the earth round the sun.  This theory brought him into conflict with the church; his books on the subject were condemned, and he was cited before the Inquisituin at Rome, and there obliged to recant, being afterwards detained in prison for a considerable time.

Name Origin: Galileo Galilei, celebrated Italian mathematician and astronomer, the founder of modern physics; born 1564, died 1642.  Besides many discoveries and inventions, such as the law of the pendulum, the hydrostatic scales, the thermometer in a primitive shape, etc, he made important discoveries in astronomy, and adopted and propagated the Copernican theory of the revolution of the earth round the sun.  This theory brought him into conflict with the church.  His book on the subject were condemned, he was cited before the Inquisition at Rome, were obliged to recent, and was detained in prison for a considerable time.

The fifth “GANGES” was a hired armed transport, used during the war with Russia.  On November the 14^th, 1854, a tremendous hurricane devastated the coasts of the Crimea, and the “Ganges” was one of five British transports which were totally lost.The sixth “GANGES” was an 8-gun screw corvette, which was launched in1882 as the “Caroline.”  She was of 1420 tons, 1400 horse-power, and 13 knots speed.  Her length, beam, and draught were 200ft., 38ft., and 14ft. This vessel acted for some years in training establishment for boys at Shotley, and was used as a swimming bath.The seventh “GANGES” known as “Ganges 2^nd.” For some time, was a screw 17-gun ship which had been launched at Blackwall in 1863 as the “Minotaur.”  She was of 10,690 tons, and her length, beam, and draught were 400ft., 59ft., and 27ft. After service as a training-ship for youths at Portland and Harwich, she became part of the training establishment for boys at shotley.

(Victoria)

Name Origin: Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian patriot; born 1807 at Nice, died 1882 at Coprera.  Joining in the unsuccessful revolutionary movements in northern Italy of 1834, he was condemned to death, but fled into exile, and served in the fleet of the Bey of Tunis for two years, after which he went to Rio de Janeiro and fought for the Republic of Monte Video.  Returning to Italy in 1848, he became the leader of a body of irregular troops during the struggle with Austria, and greatly distinguished himself.  Arrested in 1849, he once more went into exile until 1853.  In 1859 on war breaking out between King Victor Emmanuel and Austria, the former appointed him General in command of the Alpine rifles.  But in 1860 already Garibaldi went to head the insurrectionary movement in Sicily.  Landing at Marsala with 1000 men, the insurgents soon reinforced him, and driving the Neapolitan troops out of the island, proclaimed he Dicator of Sicily.  From these he went to Naples, which he entered in triumph, captured Capua, and attacked the strong lines on the Volturno, which had been occupied by the Neapolitans.  Here the Sardinian army joined him, and Garbaldi, having hailed victor Emmanuel “King of Italy.” Re-entered Naples at his side.  Defeated in an expedition against Calabria, he was made prisoner at Aspromonte in 1862, but after a short detention at Spezia, was set at liberty and retired to the island of Caprera, which he had purchased in 1855.  In 1866 he fought against the Austrians, but was foiled by the Italian Government in an attempt to take Rome.  In 1867 he made a raid on the Papal States with a body of irregulars, but had to return unsuccessful to Caprera.  On the proclamation of the Republic in France 1870, Garibaldi offered his services to the republican Government and was appointed to the command of the non-existing “Army of the Vosges.”  Elected a member of the French National Assembly at Bordeaux, he met with so much abuse and calumny on the part of the other members that he retired, disgusted and disappointed, to Caprera, where he spent the last ten years of his life, occupying himself with the writing of pamphlets and novels.

Garibaldi

Name Origin: River flowing into the Bay of Gaeta.  It is the Liris of the Romans.

Name Origin: Scotch river issuing from Loch Garry (Perthshire); it flows through Glen Garry, and after passing Blair Athole it joins the Tummel just south of the Pass of Killiecrankie.  There is another small river of this name in Inverness-shire.

Gaulois

Name Origin: Gaul.  The Gauls were the Celtic inhabitants of what is now France, and which was known as Gallia to the Romans.

Name Origin : (Queensland)-The North Australian aboriginal word for “lightning.”

Name Origin: Buffoon bird, a species of falcon.

Name Origin: Vulture

Gejser

Name Origin: The name of a great intermittent spring or fountain of boiling water in Iceland.  It is now a generic term for all such springs.

Name Origin: One of the provinces of the Netherlands, and one of the seven United Provinces of the Dutch Republic.

Name Origin: Lord High Admiral of Russia.

General Baquedano

Name Origin: At the early age of thirteen he took part as ensign in the campaign against the Peruvian Bolivian alliance of 1838-9.  He rose in 1880 to the chief command f the National Army with which he fought the sanguinary battles of Charrillos and Miraflores, and finally gained the decisive victory of Lima.  He died in 1896.

General Belgrano

Name Origin: Don Jose Gutierrez de la Concha, Marquis de la Habana, born 1800.  He became Captain General of the Basque provinces in 1843, and having subdued the revolt in Santiago, Inspector General of Cavalry in 1846.  He was sent as Captain General to Cuba in 1849, but recalled in 1852, which so embittered him that he joined the malcontents in Spain and was consequently banished.  On the outbreak of the revolution he returned, and was once more sent to Cuba in 1854, but only remained there two years.  In 1863 he became Minister of War, and in 1864 President of the Senate.  In 1872 he returned to Cuba as Captain General for the third time, and quelled the revolt that had broken out there.

Name Origin: Roman Isidorovitch Kondratenko born 1857, died 1904.  He entered the army in 1877, and in 1886 became a member of the General Staff.  In 1903 he commanded the 7^th East Siberian Rifle Brigade, and as such greatly distinguished himself during the memorable defence of Port Arthur against the Japanese.  He superintended all the works for strengthening the defences, and by his undaunted energy and courage became the “soul of the defence.”  A few days before the surrender of the fortress a shell killed him, and his death decided the fate of Port Arthur.

General O'Higgins

Name Origin: Born of Irish descent in the Chilean provinces of Nuble he entered the military service of Spain.  During the war with France he distinguished himself at the battle of Bailen, and was decorated by the king.  At the commencement of the movement for Chilean independence he returned to his native country and took an active part in all the fighting, notably at Rancagua. Roble, and the crowning victory of Chacabuco, as a result, which he was nominated supreme Director of the newly established Republic, which acclaimed him as the “father of the nation.”  He created the first national fleet, and organised the expedition for the liberation of Peru.

General San Martin

Name Origin: “George the Victorious,” St. George, one of the patron saints of Russia.

Germinal

Name Origin: “Month of germination.”  The seventh month of the New Calendar instituted by the First French Republic on September 22^nd 1792, and which continued in use until Napoleon reintroduced the Gregorian calendar on January 1^st 1806.

Name Origin: Major of the 13^th Regiment of Dorobants, killed during the war with Turkey in the attack on Grivitiza, august 31 1877.

Name Origin: The late Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of the late Queen Victoria, who in 1874 married the only daughter of the late Emperor Alexander II.

Name Origin: The dominant and military race of those inhabiting the kingdom of Nepal, descendants of the Brahmans and Rajputs driven out of Hindustan by the Moslems.  Considerable numbers of them serve in the Native Army of India, where they form separate regiments.

The eighth “GIBRALTAR” was an 101-gun screw ship, launched at Devonport in 1860.  She was of 5724 tons, 800 horse- power, and carried a crew of 700 men.  Her length, beam, and draught were 252ft., 58ft., and 20ft.  The “Gibraltar” ended her career in the service of the Belfast training-ship committee, and her name was changed to “Grampian” in 1888.  In 1899 this vessel was sold. The ninth “GIBRALTAR” is a 12-gun twin-screw cruiser, launched at Glasgow in 1892.  She is of 7700 tons, 12,000 horse- power, and 19.7 knots speed.  Her length, beam, and draught are 360ft., 60ft., and 24ft.   In 1896 the “Gibraltar,” commanded by Captain Harry Hughes Hallet, was one of a squadron of six ships which was specially commissioned in consequence of a congratulatory telegram from the German Emperor to President Paul Kruger on the occasion of the Repulse of Dr. Jameson’s Raid.  The ships were called the Particular Service squadron, and were commanded by Rear-Admiral Alfred Taylor Dale, with his flag in “Revenge.”

Name Origin: Name of a tribe in North-eastern Siberia.

Name Origin: A Neapolitan seaman, born 1757, died 1821.  He served for three years in the British Navy under Rodney, commanded one of the Neapolitan ships, which co-operated with the English fleet during the occupation of Toulon in 1793, and in 1796 fought in the action against the French off Genoa.  He commanded the detachment of gunboats assisting the French during the siege of Genoa by Marshal Massena in 1806.  In 1808, in command of the frigate Ceres, he fought his way through the English line of battle safely into Naples, and in 1820 commanded the expedition sent to Siciliy to restrain the rebellious Palermitans.

Name Origin: An ancient wandering race popularly supposed to be descended from Ishmael, Hagar’s son, and to have come from Egypt; hence their appellation.  They appeared in Europe early in the fifteenth century from the East, and first reached England about 1514.  They retain their own language and mode of life, though now scattered over all parts of the civilised world.

Name Origin: Name of the lofty tower and belfry of Seville Cathedral.  Built by the Moors in 1196, it was heightened by Phillip II in 1568.  The “Girandillo,” a female bronze figure of Faith holding the banner of Constantine, surmounts it.  The word “Giralda” is derived from girar, to draw or to be wafted by the wind, on account of the weatherock erected at the summit.

Name Origin: Swordsman of ancient Rome, who fought in the arena for public amusement, or on the occasion of some great funeral ceremony.  The gladiators were generally slaves.

Glaive

Name Origin: the short Roman sword.

The fifth “GLASGOW” was a 51-gun screw frigate, launched at Portsmouth in 1816.  She was of 4020 tons, 2020 horse- power, and 12 knots speed.  Her length, beam, and draught were 250ft., 52ft., and 22ft.  She did only one commission from 1871 to 1875.  When Lord Mayo, the Viceroy of India, was assassinated on February 8^th, 1872, at the Andaman Islands, the “Glasgow” was in attendance and removed the body.  She presented a melancholy sight as she steamed away, with her yards a-cockbill, her gaff drooped, and the Vice-Regal flag at half-mast.  In 1884 this ship was sold. The sixth “GLASGOW” is a turbine cruiser, launched at Fairfield’s Yard in 1910.  She is of 4800 tons, 22,000 horse- power, and 25 knots speed.  Her length, beam, and draught are 430ft., 47ft., and 15ft.

Name Origin: Glaukos, the pilot of the legendary ship Argo, which carried the heroes in quest of the Golden Fleece of the ram which had carried Phryxos to Colchis.

Gloire

Name Origin: Glory.

The seventh “GLORY” was a 58-ton vessel with a crew of 4 men, hired for service in 1804.  The eighth “GLORY” was the French 40-gun frigate “Gloire.”  She was of 1153 tons, and carried a crew of 284 men.  Her length, beam, and draught were 158ft., 41ft., and 12ft.  She was captured on September 25^th, 1806, off Rochefort by the “Centaur,” Commodore Sir Samuel Hood, and the “Mars,” commanded by Captain William Lukin.  In 1809 the “Glory,” commanded by Captain James Carthew, was one of a fleet of 44 vessels in all, commanded by Rear-Admiral the Hon.  Alexander Cochrane with his flag in “Neptune.”  On January 28^th they sailed from Barbados to attack Martinique.  Ten thousand troops under Lieutenant-General Beckwith accompanied the expedition, and were landed on January 30^th.  The “Glory”  and other ships forced their way up to the head of  Fort Royal Bay and compelled the French to burn their ships.  Seamen landed and assisted with guns and mortars.  The forts were bombarded by the ships and attacked by the troops, and the whole island capitulated on February 24^th.  The Navy lost 8 killed and 19 wounded.    In 1812 the “Glory” was broken up at Chatham.The ninth “GLORY” was a French 40-gun frigate “Iphigenie.”  She was taken on January 16^th, 1814, off Madeira by the “Venerable” and “Cyane.”  She was added to the Navy, and her name was subsequently changed to “Gloire.”  She was of 1066 tons, and carried a crew of 315 men.  Her length, beam, and draught were 154ft., 40ft., and 11ft. In 1817 this vessel was sold for £1750. The tenth “GLORY” is a 16-gun twin-screw battleship, launched at Birkenhead in 1899.  She is of 12,950 tons, 13,500 horse- power, and 18 knots speed.  Her length, beam, and draught are 390ft., 74ft., and 26ft.

The sixth “GLOUCESTER” was a 74-gun ship, launched at Northfleet in 1812.  She was of 1770 tons, and carried a crew of 590 men.  Her length, beam, and draught were 176ft., 48ft., and 17ft.   In 1832 the “Gloucester” was cut down to a 50-gun ship at Chatham.  The “Gloucester” ended her career as a receiving hulk at Chatham, and was sold in 1884.The seventh “GLOUCESTER” was a 10-gun brig which took part in the American War, in the Lake Campaign on Lake Ontario. In April 1813 she was captured by the Americans when they attacked York and carried off to their headquarters at Sackett’s Harbour.    In May the British, under Captain Sir James Lucas Yeo, attacked Sackett’s Harbour, and although they suffered a serious repulse, they succeeded in burning the “Gloucester” before they retired.  The eighth “GLOUCESTER” is a turbine cruiser, launched at Beardmore’s Yard in 1910.  She is of 4800 tons, 22,000 horse- power, and 25 knot speed.  Her length, beam, and draught are 430ft., 47ft., and 15ft. In August 1914, after the declaration with war with Germany, the “Gloucester,” commanded by Captain W.A.H. Kelly, had an indecisive and distant engagement with the German cruiser “Breslau” between Sicily and the Dardanelles.  The “Gloucester” subsequently took part in the various operations in the Mediterranean against the German and Austrian fleets.

Gnome

Name Origin: One of a race of imaginary dwarf like beings, the spirits of the earth and living in its interior.

Goeland

Name Origin: Sea gull.

Name Origin: Guntur, an active volcano on the island of Java.

Name Origin: Village on the Mincio where, on April 4^th and May 30^th 1848, the Sardinians defeated the Austrians.

The second “GOLIATH” was an 84-gun ship, eventually launched at Pembroke in July 1827 as 2Clarence.”  She was of 2288 tons, and carried a crew of 700 men.  Her length, beam, and draught were 196ft., 52ft., and 19ft.   The Lord High Admiral himself attended the launch, and gave her his own name of “Clarence.”The third “GOLIATH” was an 80-gun ship, launched at Chatham in 1842.  She was of 2596 tons, and carried a crew of 630 men.  Her length, beam, and draught were 190ft., 57ft., and 18ft.   In 1856 the “Goliath” was fitted with a screw and engines of 400 horse- power.  This vessel was subsequently lent to the Forest Gat School Ship Committee, and while lying at her moorings, was burned at Grays on December 22^nd, 1875. The fourth “GOLIATH” is a 16-gun twin-screw battleship, launched at Chatham in 1898.  She is of 12,950 tons, 13,500 horse- power, and 18 knots speed.  Her length, beam, and draught are 390ft., 74ft., and 26ft.  In 1900 the “Goliath” commanded by Captain Lewis Edmund Wintz, played a minor part in the China War or “Boxer Riots.”

The second “GOOD HOPE” is an 18-gun twin-screw cruiser, launched at Fairfield in 1901.  She is of 14,100 tons, 31,000 horse-power, and 24 knots speed.  Her length, beam, and draught are 500ft., 71ft., and 26ft.  This vessel’s original name was “Africa,” but it was changed to “Good Hope” before launching, in honour of the Cape Colony government, who had decided to present the Imperial government with a sum equivalent to the interest on her capital value. On November 25^th, 1992, the “Good Hope” left Portsmouth, commanded by Captain C.E. Madden and flying the flag of Rear-Admiral Wilmot H. Fawkes, conveying the Rt. Hon. Joseph Chamberlain to South Africa in connection with the settlement of many questions arising on the conclusion of the second Boer War.  She arrived at Durban on December 26^th, 1902, and Mr. Chamberlain returned to England in the following year in the Union Castle.  “Norman.”

Gorm

Name Origin: Gorm the Old, the first king of all Denmark, died 936.  He ruled over Zealand and Schonen and conquered Funen and Jutland.  He presented the Christian missionaries and converts, but having been defeated by the Emperor Henry I in 934, he was obliged to permit the free exercise of Christianity, though himself remaining a heathen.  He was blind during the last years of his life, and made over the government of part of his kingdom to his saintly wife Thyra.

Name Origin: Place where in 1848 the Sardinians fought the Austrians, and where their marines in particular distinguished themselves.

Name Origin: Henry, natural son of Charles II and Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland; born 1663, died 1690.  He was created Baron Sudbury, Viscount Ipswich, and early of Euston in 1672, Duke of Grafton in 1675.  He served in the Navy and commanded the first Grafton.  In command of the naval forces in the expedition against Cork, he was wounded during the assault on that place and died shortly afterwards.

Name Origin: Count Boris Petrovitch Sheremetieff, born 1652, died 1719, one of Peter the Great’s ablest generals.  In 1686 he acted as the Russian special envoy who concluded the peace and treaty of alliance with Poland, and the year following he negotiated the peace with Austria.  His victories over the Swedes at Errastfer in 1701, and at Hummelsdorf in 1702, gave the Baltic provinces to Russia.  In 1709 he commanded the Russian centre at the victorious battle of Poltava, and in 1710 captured Riga and the whole of Livonia.  The name was revived in the submarine boat bearing it, in honour of the present Count Sheremetieff, a descendant of the former, who subscribed largely towards the fund for constructing torpedo boats and submarines raised in Russia during the war with Japan, 1904-1905.

Name Origin: A Portuguese fleet first visited India- the great Asiatic peninsula in 1498, when Vasco da Gama sailed thither round the Cape of Good Hope.  In 1510 Alfonso de Albuquerque laid the doundation of the Portuguese rule over the greater part of the west coast of India by the conquest of Goa and Calicut.  For nearly a century Portugal, which had been the first, was also only European State that ha possessions in India.

Name Origin: Grenadier.  The ship name is in honour of the Piedmontese Grenadiers who distinguished themselves during the wars of unification, especially in 1859 at the battle of St Martino, under the personal leadership of King Victor Emmanuel II.

Name Origin: Frontier guard.

The fourth “GRASSHOPPER” was a 2-gun screw gunboat, launched at North fleet in 1856.  She was of 232 tons, 60 horse- power, and carried a crew of 36 men.  Her length, beam, and draught were 108ft., 22ft., and 6ft.  In November 1865 the “Grasshopper,” commanded by Lieutenant George Digby Morant, while near Amoy, learned that three Chinese pirate lorchas, which were then at Port Matheson, had lately captured five junks.  On November 23^rd Morant found the three pirates under sail with their prizes at anchor inside of them.  In spite of the vastly superior force opposed to him, the gallant Morant at once engaged the pirates, who tackled backwards and forwards in the shallow part of the bay.  At 11.a.m. a shell from the “grasshopper” blew up the magazine of the largest lorcha and set fire to that vessel.  Having steamed round to prevent the other two from escaping, the cutter captured one of them.  The third lorcha kept up the engagement until 1.15 when she struck, Morant taking possession in his gig.  The gunboat was twice hulled, but had no casualties.  Upon seeing the “Grasshopper” approach, the pirates had deliberately beheaded 34 of their prisoners, and disembowelled two boys, sons of the masters of two of the prizes.  Lieutenant Morant, who was promoted foe this affair, was fortunately able to capture 23 of the scoundrels who had jumped overboard.  The “Grasshopper” on several other occasions rendered useful service of the same sort, and at her paying off, she was able to claim prize money in respect of 20 pirate vessels.    In 1871 the “Grasshopper” was sold at Newchang for £582.The fifth “GRASSHOPPER” was a 2-gun twin-screw gunboat, launched at Sheerness in 1887.  She was of 525 tons, 2700 horse- power, and 19 knots speed.  Her length, beam, and draught were 200ft., 23ft., and 10ft.    In 1905 this vessel was sold.  The sixth “Grasshopper” was a turbine coastel destroyer, launched at Thorneycroft’s Yard in 1907.  She was of 215 tons, 3750 horse- power, and 26 knots speed.  Her length, beam, and draught were 166ft., 17ft., and 6ft.  Before completion this vessel was given a number, and called torpedo boat No.9. The seventh “GRASSHOPPER” is a turbine torpedo-boat destroyer, launched at Fairfield in 1910.  She is of 950 tons, 12,500 horse- power, and 27 knots speed.  Her length, beam, and draught are 265ft., 28ft., and 8ft.

Name Origin: Griffon

Name Origin: Crasher.

Grenadier

Name Origin: or Griffin-A mythical winged monster, with the head and beak of an eagle and the body and limbs of a lion.  Found in the sculptures of Babylon and Assyria it was believed in the Middle Ages to really exist.  It is frequently represented in heraldry.

Name Origin: bodyguard of the Tsars in old times.

The twelfth “GRIFFON” was a 10-gun brig sloop, launched at Chatham in 1832.  She was 230 tons, and carried a crew of 60 men.  Her length, beam, and draught were 90ft., 25ft., and 10ft.   The “Griffon” was subsequently converted to a 3-gun brigantine, and ended her career as a coal depot at Portsmouth, being broken up at Portsmouth in 1869.The thirteenth “GRIFFON” was a 5-gun screw gunboat, launched at Northfleet in 1860.  She was of 425 tons, and 80 horse- power.  Her length, beam, and draught were 145ft., 26ft., and 8ft.   From 1861 to 1865 the “Griffon” was engaged in the suppression of west African slavery, and assisted in capturing eight slavers.   In October 1866 the “Griffon,” commanded by Commander Duncan G. Davidson, was stranded and lost after collision with H.M.S. “Pandora” off little Popo.  The accident was due to the detective condition of the night-signalling system.The fourteenth “GRIFFON” was a 3-gun screw gun vessel, launched at Birkenhead in 1876.  She was of 774 tons, 790 horse- power, and 11 knots speed.  Her length, beam, and draught were 158ft., 29ft., and 14ft.  In 1888 the “Griffon” commanded by Commander John E. Blaxland, was one of a squadron of one German and seven English ships under Rear-Admiral the Hon.  Edmund Fremantle with his flag in “Boadicea,” which took part in the blockade of the Zanzibar littoral.  This was undertaken in the interests of the suppression of slavery, and also in consequence of the revolt of several of the coast towns against German authority.  Apart from the capture of slave dhows, the blockade incidents were of an uninteresting nature. On October 17^th, 1888, the “Griffon’s” steam cutter, under Lieutenant Myles Cooper, chased and engaged a large dhow armed with one gun.  The dhow opened heavy fire; Lieutenant Cooper was mortally wounded and two seamen were injured.  Ship’s Corporal John Bray took charge and drove the dhow ashore, where the Arabs jumped overboard and fled, leaving her to be captured.   In 1891 the “Griffon” was sold. The fifteenth “GRIFFON” is a twin-screw torpedo-boat destroyer, launched at Birkenhead in 1896.  She is of 355 tons, 6300 horse- power, and 30 knots speed.  Her length, beam, and draught are 210ft., 20ft., and 5ft.

Name Origin: The name of one of the redoubts of Plevna, which the Romanian troops gallantry stormed during the siege 1877.

Name Origin: Thunderer.

Grondeur

Name Origin: Growler

Grondin

Name Origin: Red gurnet, a fish.

Gronsund

Name Origin: Straits between the islands of Moen and Falster.

Name Origin: Threatener.

Name Origin: formidable.

Guale

Name Origin: One of the Auracanian heroines wives of the Caciques, who fought the Spanish invaders.  They figure in the poem called “La Auracana,” by Don Alonso de Ercilla.

Guardia Marina Contreras

Name Origin: Midshipman Contreras fell heroically at the disembarkation of the troops at Pisagua on November 2^nd 1870, during the war with Peru.

Guardia Marina Riquelme

Name Origin: Midshipman Riquelme.  He served onboard the corvette Esmeralda in the memorable action off Iquique on May 21^st 1879, and went down with his ship, actually firing the last gun before she disappeared.

Guepe

Name Origin: Wasp.

Gueydon

Name Origin: Louis Hernri Comte de Gueydon; born 1809, died 1886.  Having joined the Navy, he distinguished himself in the affair of St Juan d’Ulloa in 1840, for which he was promoted to Commander.  In 1853 he was appointed governor of Martinique.  Promoted to Vice-Admiral in 1861, he commanded a squadron in the North Sea during the early part of the war with Germany in 1870.  After the peace of 1871 he went to Algeria as Governor-General, and in 1885 he was elected Deputy for the Department of Manche.

Guichen

Name Origin: Louis Urbain de Bouenic, Comte de Guichen; born 1712, died 1790.  He entered the Navy in 1730.  In command of the Illustre in 1756, he fought a successful action with two English ships off the St Lawrence River.  In 1778 he was second in command to D’Orvilliers in the action with Keppel off Brest, and the following year captured the English ship Ardent with his division of the fleet off Plymouth.  In 1780 having been sent to the West Indies with a squadron carrying 4000 troops, he twice fought Rodney, April 17^th and May 19^th, his son being killed at his side in the second action.  Having returned to Brest with a convoy in 1781, he sailed at once with another, but falling in with Admiral Kempenfe;t’s squadron off the Azores, he lost 15 sail, and had to return to Brest.  The following year, off St Vincent, he captured 28 ships of an English convoy for Canada.

Name Origin : Name borne by a corps of the Native Army of India.

Guldborgsund

Name Origin: Straits between the islands of Laaland and Falser.