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 John Hereward Edelsten (12 May 1891 – 10 February 1966) was a senior

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, Portsmouth The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Sir Thomas Williams's tenure, his succes ...

Early life

Edelsten was born 12 May 1891 in Enfield, Middlesex, England the third son to John Jackson Edelsten and Jessica Gooding. John Jackson Edelsten owned a tea broker business.

Naval career

Edelsten joined the

in 1908.Sir John Hereward Edelsten
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, kcl.ac.uk; accessed 8 April 2016. He served in

World War I 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 ...

and then became Deputy Director of Plans in 1938. He also served in

World War II 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 ...

initially as Senior Naval Officer during operations against

Italian Somaliland Italian Somalia ( it, Somalia Italiana; ar, الصومال الإيطالي, Al-Sumal Al-Italiy; so, Dhulka Talyaaniga ee Soomaalida), was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th centur ...

before becoming

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station in 1941. He was made Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (U-boat Warfare and Trade) in 1942 and Rear Admiral (Destroyers) for the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships ...

in 1945. After the War he commanded 1st Battle Squadron and then 4th Cruiser Squadron before becoming

Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) may refer to: *Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (India) *Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (Pakistan) * Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (United Kingdom) The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (V.C.N.S.) was a senior appoint ...

in 1947. He was made Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in 1950; this post was dual hatted from 1952 as NATO Commander

Allied Forces Mediterranean Allied Forces Mediterranean was a NATO command covering all military operations in the Mediterranean Sea from 1952 to 1967. The command was based at Malta. History The British post of Commander in Chief Mediterranean Fleet was given a dual-hatte ...

. In this capacity he conducted a two-day visit to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. His last post was as

and NATO Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief, Channel Command in 1952; he retired in 1954. He was also

First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp Below is a list of First and Principal Naval Aides-de-Camp, an office established by William IV of the United Kingdom in 1830: First and Principal Naval Aides-de-Camp *1830-1846: Lord Amelius Beauclerk *1846-1866: Sir William Parker, Bt. *18 ...

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

from 1953 to 1954. Edelsten was appointed a

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

in the 1953 Coronation Honours.

Family

On 14 December 1926, Edelsten married Frances Anne Hoile Masefield at the Holy Trinity Church in London.Ancestry.com. London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Frances was born 14 October 1900 in Broughty Ferry, Forfarshire, Scotland to Henry Valentine Masefield and Caroline Gordon.

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Edelston, John 1891 births 1966 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy admirals of World War II Lords of the Admiralty Admiralty personnel of World War II People from Enfield, London Military personnel from Middlesex