Lord Walter Kerr

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Lord Walter Kerr
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

First Naval Lord. In that capacity he presided over a period of continued re-armament in the face of German naval expansion but was unceasingly harassed by Admiral Sir John Fisher
.

Early career

Born the fourth son of

mentioned in despatches on 31 March 1858[4] and promoted to mate on 28 September 1858, he transferred to the royal yacht HMY Victoria and Albert in June 1859.[2]

Promoted to lieutenant on 5 September 1859, Kerr was appointed to the steam frigate HMS Emerald in the Channel Squadron in July 1860 and to the second-rate HMS Princess Royal, flagship on the East Indies and China Station in February 1864.[2] While serving on HMS Princess Royal and ashore in the treaty port of Yokohama, Kerr also found the opportunity to take some of the earliest photographic pictures of Japan[5] and in 1866 helped to establish the first Rugby Football club in the country.[6] Promoted to commander on 3 April 1868,[7] he was posted to the ironclad battleship HMS Hercules in the Channel Squadron in November 1868 and was awarded the Royal Humane Society's silver medal for jumping overboard to rescue a man who had fallen from the rigging into the River Tagus.[2]

Kerr became Flag Captain to the Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron and Captain of the battleship

HMS Alexandra in March 1880.[9]

Kerr supervised the handover of

First Lord of the Admiralty in July 1885.[10]

Flag officer

The battleship, HMS Royal Sovereign, Kerr's flagship as Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Squadron
Kerr caricatured by Spy for Vanity Fair, 1900

Promoted to

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1896.[12]

Kerr became Second Naval Lord again in May 1899 before being made

coronation. He was then promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 16 June 1904.[17] During his time as First Naval Lord Kerr presided over a period of continued re-armament in the face of German naval expansion but was unceasingly harassed by Admiral Sir John Fisher[18] until he was replaced by Fisher in October 1904.[10]

In retirement he was President of the Catholic Union of Great Britain: he lived at Melbourne Hall in Derbyshire, which his wife had inherited, along with Brocket Hall and the manor of Ayot St Peter.[19] He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of the county on 26 January 1917[20] and died at Melbourne Hall on 12 May 1927.[10] He was buried at St Michael's Church nearby.[10]

Family

Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire

In 1873, Kerr married Lady Amabel Cowper, published writer, the youngest daughter of George Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper; they had four sons and two daughters:[21]

  • Ralph Francis (1874–1932), priest;
  • Andrew William (1877–1929), married Marie Constance Kerr (a descendant of the 5th Marquess of Lothian) (1889–1929), had issue, including Peter Kerr, 12th Marquess of Lothian;
  • Mary Catherine (1878–1957), nun;
  • Margaret Mary (1880–1943), unmarried;
  • John David (1883–1954), married Annabel Mary Ward (d. 1974), no issue;
  • Philip Walter (1886–1941) married Dorothy Lucy Cave (a descendant of the 6th Marquess of Lothian)

Ancestry

References

  1. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/40737. Retrieved 13 December 2019. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Heathcote, p. 143
  3. ^ "No. 22112". The London Gazette. 11 March 1858. p. 1407.
  4. ^ "No. 22143". The London Gazette. 25 May 1858. p. 2587.
  5. ISBN 1-903350-14-X
    .
  6. ^ Galbraith, Mike (15 March 2014). "1866 and all that: the untold early history of rugby in Japan". The Japan Times. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  7. ^ "No. 23368". The London Gazette. 7 April 1868. p. 2106.
  8. ^ "No. 23925". The London Gazette. 3 December 1872. p. 6104.
  9. ^ a b c d "William Loney RN". Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Heathcote, p. 144
  11. ^ "No. 26601". The London Gazette. 22 February 1895. p. 1067.
  12. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34305. Retrieved 16 December 2012. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  13. ^ "No. 27178". The London Gazette. 30 March 1900. p. 2131.
  14. ^ "The Coronation Honours". The Times. No. 36804. London. 26 June 1902. p. 5.
  15. ^ "No. 27448". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 June 1902. p. 4189.
  16. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36848. London. 16 August 1902. p. 8.
  17. ^ "No. 27692". The London Gazette. 5 July 1904. p. 4259.
  18. ^ Boyce, p. 108
  19. ^ "Parishes: Ayot St. Peter Pages 63-65 A History of the County of Hertford: Volume 3. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1912". British History Online.
  20. ^ "No. 29928". The London Gazette. 2 February 1917. p. 1177.
  21. ^ Mosley, p. 2405

Sources

External links
Military offices
Preceded by Junior Naval Lord
1892–1893 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Second Naval Lord

1893–1895 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Channel Fleet
1895–1897 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Second Naval Lord

1899 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
First Naval Lord

1899–1904 		Succeeded by
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