Mark Kerr (Royal Navy Officer, Born 1864)
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Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Mark Edward Frederic Kerr, (26 September 1864 – 10 January 1944) was a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
and
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
officer during the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Kerr was the Commander-in-Chief of the
Royal Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; , 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 various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. ...
in the early part of the First World War, Commander-in-Chief of the British Adriatic Squadron in 1916 and 1917 and was involved in the work to create the Royal Air Force in late 1917 and early 1918.


Early life

Mark Edward Frederic Kerr was born on 26 September 1864, son of the Admiral Lord Frederic Kerr (1818–1896) and Emily Sophia Maitland, daughter of General Sir Peregrine Maitland. His father was the youngest son of
William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian, (4 October 1763 – 27 April 1824), was a British soldier, landowner and politician. He was the son of William Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian. He served as a representative peer from 1817 to 1824. Life ...
and his second wife, Lady Harriet Scott, daughter of the
Duke of Buccleuch Duke of Buccleuch ( ), formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created twice on 20 April 1663, first for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and second ''suo jure'' for his wife Anne Scott, 4th Countess of ...
. His cousin was the politician John Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian.


Naval career

Kerr joined the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
in 1877 following education at
Stubbington House School Stubbington House School was founded in 1841 as a boys' preparatory school, originally located in the Hampshire village of Stubbington, around from the Solent. Stubbington House School was known by the sobriquet "the cradle of the Navy". The s ...
.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He served in the Naval Brigade during the Egyptian War of 1882 and in
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
in 1891. From April 1899 he held a series of commands on ships serving in the
Medway Medway is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of City of Roche ...
Instructional Flotilla. After initial command of the
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
HMS ''Bittern'', he was appointed to the destroyer in November 1899, then transferred to the
torpedo boat destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived in ...
HMS ''Cheerful'' in March 1900. He was promoted to
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
on 1 January 1903, and appointed Naval Attache in Italy, Austria, Turkey and Greece later the same year. In 1913, he succeeded Vice Admiral Lionel Grant Tufnell as head of the British Naval Mission to Greece, and as Commander-in-Chief of the
Royal Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; , 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 various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. ...
, a post he retained until 1915. As commander of the Greek Navy at the outbreak of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Kerr helped keep Greece out of the war. In 1914, while on leave from his duties as head of the Greek Navy, Kerr learned to fly, making him the first British
flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...
to become a pilot. He was awarded his Aviator's Certificate no. 842 on 16 July 1914. In May 1916 Kerr was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Adriatic Squadron which meant that he was unavailable to the Committee which was investigating the Dardanelles failure. Kerr returned to Great Britain in August 1917 and the Admiralty seconded him to the Air Board to assist in the formation of the
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...
and the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
. In late 1917, when the Government were considering the recommendations of the Smuts Report, Kerr intervened in its favour. His "bombshell memorandum" correctly identified a new heavy bomber that the Germans had just brought into service, although the memorandum overstated its payload capability. Additionally, using information Kerr had gained from Italian sources, Kerr stated that the Germans were developing a fleet of 4,000 heavy bombers and would soon be able to destroy large areas of South-East England. To counter this threat, Kerr urged the creation of a bomber force consisting of no fewer than 2,000 aircraft which would be under the authority of an air ministry with its own executive powers. Kerr was granted the rank of major general and served as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff at the
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...
in the months before the RAF came into being. By Kerr's own testimony he found himself in disagreement on several matters of strategy with Sir Hugh Trenchard, the Chief of the Air Staff and on 1 April 1918, when the
Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...
and the
Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...
were merged to form the RAF, Kerr left the Air Council and was appointed
General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...
No. 2 Area with his headquarters at Chafyn Grove School in the
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
city of
Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
. In May 1918, with a renaming of the RAF's areas, Kerr was redesignated General Officer Commanding South Western Area. He retired from the RAF in October 1918. He later became a writer, dying at the age of 79 in 1944.


Family

Kerr married Rose Margaret Gough (1882–1944) on 10 July 1906. Rose was later to become a pioneer of the
Girl Guides Girl Guides (or Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) are organisations within the Scout Movement originally and largely still for girls and women only. The Girl Guides began in 1910 with the formation of Girlguiding, The ...
. Mark and Rose Kerr had two daughters: * Alix Liddell (b. 10 May 1907 – d. 1981) *Louise Rosemary Kerr (b. 22 November 1908 – d.1986) Mark and Rose Kerr both died in 1944.


Bibliography


Nonfiction

* * * * *


Poetry

* * *


Footnotes


References

* *
Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Major-General M E F Kerr


External links


Mark Edward Frederic Kerr
at the Dreadnought Project , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Mark 1864 births 1944 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the Mahdist War Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Hellenic Navy admirals Royal Navy admirals of World War I Royal Air Force generals of World War I British aviation pioneers British military writers Place of birth missing Place of death missing Military history of Greece during World War I People educated at Stubbington House School