Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Sir Bryan Godfrey Godfrey-Faussett (30 October 1863 – 20 September 1945) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

naval officer and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

. He was a friend of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

, and served as '' aide-de-camp'' to the King.

Early life and naval career

Godfrey-Faussett, a descendant of the archaeologist Rev.

Bryan Faussett Bryan Faussett (30 October 1720 – 20 February 1776) was an English antiquary. Faussett formed a collection that was rich in Anglo-Saxon objects of personal adornment, such as pendants, brooches, beads and buckles. He discovered the Kingston B ...

, was born in

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. He began his

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

training aboard HMS ''Britannia'' in 1877, and subsequently became a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

in 1879 and a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1887. Aside from studies at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

and the

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

from 1883 to 1884, he was at sea for much of this time in both home and foreign waters. Shortly after his promotion to lieutenant, he transferred to HMS ''Dolphin'', but contracted a serious fever and was sent home from

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

. He returned to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

in 1889, after a year's convalescence, aboard HMS ''Bellerophon''.

Association with George V

In 1890, Godfrey-Faussett acted as unofficial aide-de-camp to the then Prince George of Wales, at the time still on active service with the Navy, during a visit to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. His naval career continued, briefly serving as an instructor on HMS ''Britannia'', and including a posting to HMS ''Osborne'', the royal yacht, from 1896 until 1897. He was promoted

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on 13 July 1899, but was soon after to be attached to Prince George's entourage again. Godfrey-Faussett again served as aide-de-camp to the prince, now the Duke of Cornwall and York, during his tour of the British Empire from March–October 1901. Upon George's appointment as

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

in November 1901, Godfrey-Faussett was made his

Equerry An equerry (; from French language, French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attend ...

-in-Ordinary and accompanied the Prince and

Princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

on their visit to India from 1905 to 1906. In the latter year, he was promoted

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, made an MVO on 11 March 1906, and retired from active service on 31 October 1906 to attend the Prince. In 1907, he married Eugénie Fanny Eveline Dudley Ward, by whom he had two sons: George Bryan (b. 1909) and David Frederick (b. 1913). Prince George and his wife were the godparents of the former, and their son

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

, then Prince of Wales, was the godfather of the latter, indicating Godfrey-Faussett's intimacy with the royal family. On 11 August 1908, he was made a CMG. Upon George's accession as George V, Godfrey-Faussett was made an Equerry-in-Ordinary to the King, travelled to India with the royal pair for their

Delhi Durbar The Delhi Durbar ( lit. "Court of Delhi") was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by Britain at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was he ...

. On 19 June 1911, he was promoted a CVO.

First World War and after

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Godfrey-Faussett returned to active service in command of the auxiliary yacht 'Thistle' in 1914, and served as naval aide-de-camp to the King from 1915 until 1918, as well as a brief stint in the Paravane Department in 1917. This period brought him into contact with

Admiral Beatty Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, (17 January 1871 – 12 March 1936) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving in the Mahdist War and then the response to the Boxer Rebellion, he comm ...

, made C-in-C in 1916 after the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

. Unfortunately, Beatty's marriage was failing disastrously at the time, and the result was to be a decade-long love affair between Beatty and Eugénie. After the war, in 1919, Godfrey-Faussett was promoted KCVO. Godfrey-Faussett continued to serve as Equerry-in-Ordinary to King George until the monarch's death in 1936, receiving a promotion on 1 January 1932 to

GCVO The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

. During the reign of

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

, he left his post as Equerry-in-Ordinary to become an Extra Equerry, on 21 July 1936. He remained an Extra Equerry to Edward VIII and

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

until his death in 1945. He was survived by his elder son George; his younger son, David, one of the

Swordfish The swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as the broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are the sole member of the Family (biology), family Xiphiidae. They ...

pilots who attacked the ''Bismarck'', was killed in 1942 when he flew into the sea during a night flight.

References

External links

The Papers of Sir Bryan Godfrey-Faussett
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey-Faussett, Bryan 1863 births 1945 deaths Royal Navy captains Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Equerries Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order People educated at Stubbington House School Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich 19th-century Royal Navy personnel Royal Navy officers of World War I Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College