John Rushworth Jellicoe, First Earl Jellicoe

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." 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, Southampton, England on 5 December, 1859 as the second son and child of a family of four boys and two girls 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.

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. 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.

Captain

Jellicoe was promoted to the rank of Captain on 1 January, 1897. From 9 January to 30 December he served on the Ordnance Committee. Whilst on holiday in Scotland he met for the first time a young lady named Florence Gwendoline Cayzer, daughter of a shipping magnate. He was asked by the new Commander-in-Chief on the China Station, Vice-Admiral Sir Edward H. Seymour, to go with him as his Flag Captain, to which he agreed, and on 31 December he took command of the battleship Centurion. In the third year of the ship's commission, the Boxer Rebellion broke out in China. The legations in Beijing were beseiged, and Seymour led an international contingent of sailors and marines mustered from the ships at anchor off Taku. Jellicoe acted as his Chief of Staff. Having advanced by rail towards Beijing, passage beyond Langfang was impossible, and the international force was compelled to make a retreat back to the coast whilst under attack from rebels and the Imperial Chinese army. During one encounter Jellicoe was seriously wounded after being shot through the lung, and his life was despaired of. After the retirement to the coast, however, he made a rapid recovery, and was mentioned in Seymour's despatch, for which he was nominated a Companion of the Bath (C.B.). Centurion eventually returned to Britain, and paid off on 19 September, 1901.

On 8 November he was appointed to the Admiralty for service in the Department of the Controller, and on 26 March, 1902, he was appointed Naval Assistant to the Controller of the Navy. His work in the Controller's office had took him to Scotland a number of times, and he had renewed his acquaintanceship with Gwendoline Cayzer. He proposed to her in February, 1902, and on 1 July they were married at Holy Trinity, Sloane Street, London.

Flag Officer

Jellicoe, promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 8 February, 1907, was superseded as Director of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes on 25 August, 1907, and that day hoisted his flag in the battleship Albemarle as Rear-Admiral (Second-in-Command) of the Atlantic Fleet. He was relieved in that position on 25 August, 1908. On 1 October he was appointed temporarily to the Admiralty "on committee," and on 16 October was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty as Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy.

After two years as Controller, on 20 October, 1910, he was appointed Vice-Admiral Commanding the Atlantic Fleet, whilst still a Rear-Admiral. On 18 September, 1911, he was confirmed in the rank of Vice-Admiral. Winston Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty in October, and Jellicoe was seriously considered for command of the Home Fleet, the largest in the Navy, in spite of his lack of seniority and experience. It was decided that Vice-Admiral Sir George A. Callaghan would become the new Commander-in-Chief of the fleet, and that Jellicoe would serve under him. Therefore on 19 December he was appointed Vice-Admiral Commanding the Second Division. In May, 1912, the Second Division became the Second Battle Squadron.

Dissatisfied with his First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Francis C. B. Bridgeman, Churchill replaced him and invited Jellicoe to rejoin the Board of Admiralty, and on 9 December, 1912, he became Second Sea Lord in succession to the new First Sea Lord, Prince Louis of Battenberg. In 1913 he went to sea for the annual manœuvres as Commander-in-Chief of the Red Fleet, opposing Sir George Callaghan, commanding the Blue Fleet. Jellicoe's fleet represented the German navy, and was so successful at raiding the East Coast of Britain that the manœuvres were curtailed.

In mid-1914 it was officially announced that Jellicoe would succeed Callaghan as Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleets at the end of the year. He was succeeded as Second Sea Lord on 31 July, 1914, as war with Germany became imminent, and on 1 August he was given the surprise appointment of Second-in-Command to Callaghan. He was sent to join the fleet at its war station at Scapa Flow, and on 4 August, the day war was declared against Germany, was ordered to assume command from Callaghan. Despite his deep misgivings at so abrupt a course, he did so, and took direct command of the First Fleet of the Home Fleets, more widely known as the Grand Fleet.

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.

Bibliography

• "Lord Jellicoe" (Obituaries). The Times. Thursday, 21 November. Issue 47227, , pg. 19.
• Coles, Alan (1979). Three before breakfast: A true and dramatic account of how a German U-boat sank three British cruisers in one desperate hour. Homewell: Kenneth Mason. ISBN 085937 1689.

Papers

• Papers in the possession of the British Library. For a comprehensive list, see Jellicoe Papers at the British Library.

Service Records

• The National Archives. ADM 196/87. Volume 2. f. 27.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/38. Volume 2. ff. 691, 693.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/20. Volume 8. ff. 136, 135, 97.

Naval Appointments
Preceded by Henry D. Barry	Director of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes 1905 – 1907	Succeeded by Reginald H. S. Bacon
Preceded by George Le C. Egerton	Rear-Admiral in the Atlantic Fleet 1907 – 1908	Succeeded by William B. Fisher
Preceded by Sir Henry B. Jackson	Third Sea Lord and Controller 1908 – 1910	Succeeded by Charles J. Briggs
Preceded by H.S.H. Prince Louis of Battenberg	Vice-Admiral Commanding, Atlantic Fleet 1910 – 1911	Succeeded by Cecil Burney
Preceded by H.S.H. Prince Louis of Battenberg	Second Sea Lord 1912 – 1914	Succeeded by Sir Frederick T. Hamilton
Preceded by Sir George A. Callaghan	Commander-in-Chief, Grand Fleet 1914 – 1916	Succeeded by Sir David R. Beatty
Preceded by Sir Henry B. Jackson	First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff 1916 – 1917	Succeeded by Sir Rosslyn E. Wemyss