Difference between revisions of "John Rushworth Jellicoe, First Earl Jellicoe"

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The Life of Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, First Earl Jellicoe 5 December, 1869 – 20 November, 1935 Chapters Background and Early Life • Service as Lieutenant • Commander • Command and China • Director of Naval Ordnance • Flag Rank and Controller • Sea Service and Second Sea Lord • Command of the Grand Fleet • The War at Sea, 1914-1916 • The Battle of Jutland • After Jutland • First Sea Lord and the Submarine Menace • Controversy and Dismissal • Empire Tour • Governor-General of New Zealand • The Jutland Controversy • Retirement • Death and Legacy

Admiral of the Fleet THE RIGHT HONOURABLE John Rushworth Jellicoe, First Earl Jellicoe, G.C.B., O.M., G.C.V.O. (5 December, 1859 – 20 Nov, 1935) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet from 1914 to 1916, fighting the inconclusive Battle of Jutland on 31 May, 1916. He served as First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Navy, from 1916 to 1917. In that position he oversaw the introduction of convoy and the evolution of a proper Naval Staff at the Admiralty.

In the Battle of Jutland Jellicoe's methodical overall command seemed quite distinct from the impulsiveness of |Battle Cruiser Fleet commander, Vice-Admiral David Beatty. Discomfort within and without the service with the battle's tactically indecisive outcome caused the two men to be viewed as polar figures signifying alternative styles of leadership between which must be found that of the ideal commander. Disagreements over where that ideal commander would be placed in the Beatty-Jellicoe spectrum continues to dominate public thinking of the Dreadnought Era.

The heat of controversy has many measures. One journalist characterised Jellicoe as "cautious, plodding."^[1] Beatty has attracted similarly negative appraisals and both enjoy equally impassioned defenders.

Background and Early Life

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John Rushworth Jellicoe was born at 1 Cranbury Place,^[2] Southampton, England on 5 December, 1859 as the second son and child of a family of four boys and two girls^[3] and from an early age was known as "Jack."

At the age of twelve and a half he came second in the entrance examination and passed into the training ship Britannia as a naval cadet on 15 July, 1872.^[4][5]

In 1874, Jellicoe joined H.M.S. Newcastle, which took him to such foreign destinations as China, Port Stanley, Rio de Janeiro, South Africa and St. Helena over three years. He proved himself in this and other challenges, by 1878 qualifying in seamanship with a flair for mathematics. He was appointed to the Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

Service as a Lieutenant

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Over two years, Jellicoe studied at the Naval College and focused on gunnery and torpedoes at H.M.S. Excellent before leaving to serve aboard Alexandra in the Mediterranean. Before 1880 was out, he had been promoted to Lieutenant. The decade saw him meet required stints at sea while spending more energy on the study of gunnery before returning to Excellent where his talents received the influential appreciation and influence of men such as fellow Lieutenant Percy M. Scott and then Captain John A. Fisher.^[6] Jellicoe's work distinguished him as a dynamic man who could quickly acclimate to a new environment and appear comfortable and ready to take independent action.

Mediterranean and Chinese Service

In the 1890s, Jellicoe served in the Mediterranean Fleet aboard Victoria, narrowly surviving her 1893 loss despite health issues which had confined him to sick bed at the time of the accident. He served in China and was seriously wounded.

Footnotes

Bibliography

Papers

Service Records