John Kelly (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Donald Kelly GCVO, KCB (1871–1936) was a Royal Navy officer known for his leadership during the Invergordon Mutiny and the First World War

Early life
Kelly was born in 1871 in Hampshire, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Holdworth Kelly of the Royal Marine Artillery (1842-1919) and his wife Elizabeth Collum. He joined the navy in 1884 serving on the Australian Station and qualifying in gunnery. He served in the Second Boer War in HMS Forte (1893).

First World War
Kelly was captain of HMS Dublin (1912) at the outbreak of war, serving in the Mediterranean. On 4 August 1914, just prior to the outbreak of war, he was assigned by Sir Berkeley Milne to shadow the German squadron under Rear-Admiral Wilhelm Souchon, consisting of the cruiser SMS Breslau and the battlecruiser SMS Goeben. Kelly did so, but eventually lost sight of the German ships. Kelly's younger brother Howard, commanding HMS Gloucester (1909), also became involved in the subsequent chase. Dublin re-encountered the Germans at 1.30 a. m. on 6 August while sailing to join Rear-Admiral Ernest Troubridge's squadron, and passed news of the sighting to his brother and to Troubridge, before losing them again. Howard Kelly continued to shadow the Germans, and at 8.30 p.m. Milne ordered Dublin, sailing in company with two destroyers, to launch a torpedo attack that night. Using the reports from Gloucester of the Germans' speed and course, Dublin and the destroyers took up position on the Germans' bow, and waited to intercept them. They hoped to make contact at 3.30 a.m. on the morning of 7 August, but the British had been spotted by Breslau, which warned Goeben. The Germans passed unseen to starboard.

Later during the First World War, Kelly served in the Mediterranean commanding the cruisers HMS Devonshire (1904), HMS Weymouth (1910) and the battlecruiser HMS Princess Royal (1911).

Post war
After the war he served in the Admiralty as director of the Operations Division of the Naval Staff between 1919 and 1922, being promoted to rear-admiral in 1921. He afterwards served in the Mediterranean, commanding the Fourth Battle Squadron in the Dardanelles and Bosphorus. He became Fourth Sea Lord in 1924, holding the post until 1927, being promoted to vice-admiral in 1926. Kelly commanded the First Battle Squadron from 1927, as second in command of the Mediterranean Fleet. He became the admiral commanding reserves in 1929, was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 3 June 1929, and was promoted to admiral in 1930.

He took command of the Atlantic Fleet, subsequently renamed the Home Fleet, after the Invergordon Mutiny in 1931. He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 13 July 1932. He served as the First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp between 1934 and 1936. Kelly ended his career as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth between 1934 and 1936. He was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet in 1936. He died on 4 November 1936 and was buried at sea on 7 November.

The destroyer HMS Kelly (F01) was named after him.