Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sir William Archibald Howard Kelly (6 September 1873 – 14 September 1952) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, China Station.

Naval career

Kelly joined the

in 1886.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He was posted as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

to the

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

HMS ''Spartiate'' in late March 1902, went to

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

in 1902 and became naval

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accor ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1911. He served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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. In 1918 he was given command of the British Adriatic Force. In May 1919,

First Sea Lord The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed ...

Rosslyn Wemyss Admiral of the Fleet Rosslyn Erskine Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyss, (12 April 1864 – 24 May 1933), known as Sir Rosslyn Wemyss between 1916 and 1919, was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he served as commander of the 12th C ...

appointed Kelly as head of British Naval Mission to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Kelly discovered the

Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...

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. He became Commander of the

1st Battle Squadron The 1st Battle Squadron was a naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 1st Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to its original name, t ...

in the Atlantic Fleet in 1923 and commander of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in 1925. He went on to be

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

representative to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

in 1927 and commander of the

and second-in-command of the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

in 1929. His last appointment was intended to be Commander-in-Chief, China Station in 1931. He was on board the

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

when it ran aground at Tungyung Island in November 1931 – all aboard were rescued. Then, following the 28 January Incident, he used his influence to seek a ceasefire between the Chinese and Japanese forces.Naval Review
Vol. 64, No. 3, July 1976 He retired in 1936. He was recalled in 1940, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, to be British Naval Representative in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

; he retired again in 1944.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, William 1873 births 1952 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy admirals of World War II Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Royal Victorian Order