Marmaduke Blennerhassett

Lieutenant Sir Marmaduke Charles Henry Francis ("Charles") Blennerhassett, 6th Baronet, was an Anglo-Irish officer of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve who died during the Second World War.
He was born on 20 November 1902, in Bengal, India, the only child of Sir Arthur, 5th Baronet, a German-born member of the Indian Civil Service, and Mary Frances Blennerhassett (née von Aretin), daughter of Ludwig, a German landowner and member of the Reichstag. Blennerhassett studied at Downside and London University, and became an engineer. A slight defect had prevented him from passing into Britannia Royal Naval College. He participated in the Monte Carlo Rally and, despite his earlier dashed ambitions, attempted to join the navy of General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. He married, in 1938, to Gwenfra Morgan.The Times (48636), p. 9: "Personal Tributes". 7 June 1940.
Blennerhassett joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on the outbreak of war. While assigned to the destroyer HMS Greyhound, Blennerhassett assisted in the evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk in May 1940. On the 25th, Greyhound was bombarding German positions in Calais when she was hit once by a shell from a German artillery battery. Blennerhassett and one rating were killed. Another officer, Lieutenant Pigot-Moodie, succumbed to his wounds in August.Bertke, Donald A., Kindell, Don, Smith, Gordon (2011), World War II Sea War: France Falls Britain Stands Alone: Day-to-Day Naval Actions from April 1940 through September 1940, p. 155.
He is buried in St Jame's Cemetery, Dover. His son was born on the day that he died, and succeeded him to the baronetcy.
==Notes==
==References==
*Blennerhassett, Sir Marmaduke Charles Henry F, cwgc.org. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
Category:1902 births
Category:1940 deaths
Category:British military personnel
Category:British people of German descent
Category:Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Category:Buried in England
Category:Lieutenants
Category:Indian military personnel