About: Robert Gayre

Contents:

• ANTHONY J. CAMP - ROBERT GAYRE
• BOOKS BY ROBERT GAYRE
• ROBERT GAYRE BGRAPHY
• ROBERT GAYRE
• ROBERT GAYRE OF GAYRE AND NIGG
• GAYRE OF GAYRE & NIGG

ANTHONY J. CAMP - ROBERT GAYRE

One of the most trigug of the was the late Litenant-Colonel Robert Gayre of Gayre and Nigg (1907-1996), Secretary-General of the VIth Internatnal Congrs of Genealogy and Heraldry, held Edburgh 1962, whose journal of 'racial history', Mankd Quarterly, found 1960, he was donatg to the library.

As early as 1939 at Hastgs County Court a se about unpaid rent a judge told the agent who had leased Gayre a ttage that he ought to have known om the length of Gayre's letters 'what kd of man he was alg wh'! Many aspects of Gayre's life are ntroversial but I am here solely ncerned wh his male le anctry which he took a passnate tert.

No matter how tthful a man may be, his proby never seems to have stabily on that one pot', [Note 6] but the Gayre story is yet another warng, if ed another is need, never to tst what people say about their anctri unls they provi ntemporary evince for the events scribed. Robert Gayre was born as Gee Robert Gair at 4 Wtland Villas, Dubl, on 6 Augt 1907, the son of Robert William Gair, nfectner, by his wife Clara Gair, formerly Hart.

BOOKS BY ROBERT GAYRE

In the 1911 cens Gayre's father Robert William Gair was at Sandymount Green, Pembroke East, Dubl, aged 33, nfectner, sayg that he was born Stland, had been married 5 years and had 2 children. Gayre's parents moved to England at some time after 1911 and his mother Clara Gair died at 130 Prt Road, St Helens, Lanshire, on 13 March 1930, aged 47 [Note 8]. His will as Robert William Gayre or Gair was proved, 16 May 1957, by his son Gee Robert Gayre [Note 10].

On 19 November 1940 Gee Robert Gair, then of Telham, Battle, Ssex, Capta the Royal Artillery, Master of Arts of the Universy of Edburgh, a natural born Brish subject, had given notice (dated 12 November 1940) The London Gazette that he tend after twenty-one days om publitn 'to assume the surname of Gayre (which is the ancient spellg of the name) li and stead of his prent surname of Gair' [Note 11]. On 30 September 1948 Gee Robert Gayre obtaed a nfirmatn of arms om the Chief Herald of Ireland at Dubl, to 'the scendants of Robert William Gayre, of Dubl, and his son Lt.

In Ireland the language of 'nfirmatn' was always ed even when was effect a new grant and Gayre claimed his petn that his fay had been g arms prevly unrerd Ireland. He was allowed a simplified form of the arms of Gair of Nigg rerd by Alexanr Gair, portner of Nigg, on the Public Register of Arms Stland 1672-7, Gayre retag the mullet but not the chief [Note 14].

ROBERT GAYRE BGRAPHY

Burke's Peerage (2003) rrectly reprents the Confirmatn of Arms as beg to Robert William Gayre.

The pedigree says that Gayre's father, Robert William Gayre, was 'born abroad', 11 (sic) December 1875, and was formerly of Dubl and now of Huyton, Lanshire.

The pedigree further says that Gayre's father was the son of William Gilli Gair, artist (the son of the above mentned Alexanr Gair), who was born 26 September 1842, 'lived London and abroad', and died 'before 1906, believed overseas', by a wife Mary O'Connor, 'married abroad or before the year 1875'. On 13 April 1951 as of The Mead Hoe, Penzance, he was granted a Standard and Lance Pennon, by the Genealogil Office at Dubl [Note 17], but then as Robert Gayre on 27 May 1954, followg a Petn which he scribed himself as 'Reprentative of the Hoe and Fay of Gayre of Gayre and Nigg by virtue of scent and lawful posssn of the undifferenced Arms of the name' and 'elst son of the late Robert Gayre chief of the Name of Gayre and reprenter of Nigg', he had a matriculatn of the Irish arms om Lord Lyon Edburgh [Note 18]. The Arms matriculated on 27 May 1954 clud a quarterg for McCulloch of Nigg token of Gayre's alleged scent om Alexanr Gair(e) and Kathere McCulloch who had married before 1620, though documentary evince for that scent was not rerd at the Lyon Office.

ROBERT GAYRE

Gayre's wife, Na Mary Ferry or Gayre (by petn dated 14 January 1959), matriculated Arms at the Lyon Office on 23 Febary 1967 [Note 19] and Robert subsequently had a Grant of Supporters, Standard, Badge, Psel and Guidon also at the Lyon Office [Note 20]. We have noted that the pedigree rerd Ireland and later prted shows Robert Gayre's father Robert William Gair as the son of William Gilli Gair whereas his father said at marriage on 28 July 1906 that he was the son of Robert W. Inial search for the birth of Robert William Gair Stland 1875 proved negative and was assumed that Gayre had himself ma extensive search there but whout succs, so search were ncentrated on William Gilli Gair the claimed grandfather.

William Gilli Gair was born at Greenock, Stland, 26 September 1842, the only son of Alexanr Gair (1810-1884) who, acrdg to the pedigree Burke, had the Gair or Gayre of Nigg scent. One nnot say if William Sutherland was the father of Jsie's child, but whatever the se, the late Robert Gayre had no male le Gair scent.

Gayre's father may not have been fully aware of the circumstanc of his illegimate birth, but by the time that he ma his will January 1950 he had, perhaps at his son's suggtn, rmally adopted the surname Gayre. The Internatnal Commissn on Orrs of Chivalry, wh Gayre latterly as s Print, was, as noted above, embroiled many ntroversi and may be noted that Gayre's close lleague Terence McCarthy, the Commissn's Vice-Print, who had been given urty regnn by the Genealogil Office Ireland 1992 as The MacCarthy Mor, Chief of the Name, and who claimed to be Prce of Dmond and Lord of Kerslawny, was himself vtigated 1999 when was found that his pedigree was siarly bog.

ROBERT GAYRE OF GAYRE AND NIGG

[10] Prcipal Probate Registry, Grant of Probate, to Gee Robert Gayre, universy profsor, and Evelyn Lorae Gair, spster, 16 May 1957; GRO Death Inx, March Quarter 1957, Don Valley, 2b 481. [33] Will of Robert William Gayre, formerly known as Robert William Gair, of Duned, 30 The Avenue, Huyton, Lanshire, gentleman, dated 30 January 1950, proved at Liverpool, 16 May 1957.

GAYRE OF GAYRE & NIGG

(Gee) Robert Gair (6 Augt 1907 - 10 Febary 1996), who later *umed the surname Gayre of Gayre and Nigg, was a Sttish anthropologist who found Mankd Quarterly, a peer-reviewed amic journal which has been scribed as a "rnerstone of the scientific racism tablishment". A self-proclaimed expert on heraldry, he also found The Armorial, and produced many books on this achieved notoriety for claimg to be the Chief of "Clan Gayre" and "Clan Gayre and Nigg", beg subsequently found that such a "clan" had never existed; per the Glasgow Herald, Gayre created "a Sttish clan om scratch, providg wh tradns, ruals, precenc and privileg". Further, not only did he not have legimate male-le Gair scent (his father beg the illegimate child of a workg-cl* woman of the name of Gair), but he had falsified a pedigree, given to Burke's Peerage among others, later tablished to be "bog" and "whout genealogil tegry", nnectg his anctor to a mor (not chiefly) fay of the name rint at bgraphil tails, such as ranks, gre, and *l he claimed, are not penntly verifiable, rivg om his own life and tnGayre was born as Gee Robert Gair on 6 Augt 1907 Dubl to Robert William Gair (1875-1957), later of Sprotbrough, Donster, South Yorkshire, a pastry baker and nfectner, and Clara Hull or Hart.

Milary servicePer his own acunt, Gayre served as an "officer of the Regular Army Rerve" wh the Royal Artillery as part of the Brish Expednary Force France 1939, later claimg the rank of Litenant-Colonel.

Gayre, of the Royal Artillery, was transferred to the Army Edutnal Corps at that same rank as of 27th January 1942; Capta (War Substantive Major) G. Gayre, of the Royal Army Edutnal Corps, was promoted to the rank of Major as of 1st January 1949. As Chief of Clan Gayre, Gayre append "of Gayre and Nigg" beg Grand Almoner, and Heredary Commanr of Loc*, of the Orr of Sat Lazas (statuted 1910) 1959 book Heraldic Standards and Other Ensigns: Their velopment and history is nsired an important work on the subject, and he ntributed on the topic to Encyclopædia Branni.