Howard Kelly (Royal Navy officer)

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Sir Howard Kelly
Born6 September 1873
Died14 September 1952
(aged 79)
Allegiance
Member of the Royal Victorian Order

Commander-in-Chief, China Station
.

Naval career

Kelly joined the

lieutenant to the protected cruiser HMS Spartiate in late March 1902,[2] went to Somaliland in 1902 and became naval attaché in Paris in 1911.[1]

He served in the First World War as commanding officer of HMS Gloucester, taking part in the pursuit of Goeben and Breslau (his brother John Kelly was commanding officer of Gloucester's sister ship Dublin during the same engagement). From 1917 he was commander of the 8th Light Cruiser Squadron.[1] In 1918 he was given command of the British Adriatic Force.[1]

In May 1919,

First Sea Lord Rosslyn Wemyss appointed Kelly as head of British Naval Mission to Greece. Kelly discovered the Hellenic Navy in a run down condition after the Allies had emptied its stores during the course of World War I without paying any compensation. Kelly went on to reorganize the Wireless Telegraphy Service and establish the Hydrographic and a Naval Works Department. The gunlayer, rangetaker and instructor naval ratings were introduced; while conscript intakes were increased from two to three per year. A new scheme for treating malaria and venereal diseases was implemented in the navy. Naval regulations and instructions were systematically revised and Greek officers were selected to be trained in British naval schools. Kelly's mission concluded in October 1921.[3]

He became Commander of the

28 January Incident, he used his influence to seek a ceasefire between the Chinese and Japanese forces.[5] He retired in 1936.[1]

He was recalled in 1940, during the Second World War, to be British Naval Representative in Turkey; he retired again in 1944.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  2. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36726. London. 27 March 1902. p. 4.
  3. ^ Fotakis 2006, pp. 186–189, 198.
  4. ^ Loss on China Station Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 118, 14 November 1931, Page 13
  5. ^ Naval Review Vol. 64, No. 3, July 1976

Sources

  • Fotakis, Zisis (2006). "The Kelly naval mission to Greece, May 1919–October 1921". Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. 30 (2). Routledge: 185–199.
    S2CID 153764477
    .
Military offices
Preceded by
Commander-in-Chief, China Station

1931–1933
Succeeded by