The AEC Mk I Gun Carrier, known as Deacon, was a British armoured fighting vehicle of the Second World War.

The Deacon was developed in 1942 to provide British Army units in North Africa with a mobile anti-tank weapon.

It can be seen as a development of the practice of carrying smaller artillery pieces en portee (sitting on the back of trucks).

The conventional cab was replaced with a boxy armoured construction that covered the engine and the driver's position.

[citation needed] Deacons were withdrawn at the end of the campaign in North Africa, as they were not considered suitable for use in Europe.