LORD JELLICOE.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 197, 20 August 1919, Page 7

LORD JELLICOE.

A GREAT NAVAL OFFICER. SKETCH OF im CAREER. Viscount Jpllicoe of Seapa, who was C( .velcomed to New Zealand to-day, is one }f the greatest naval officers of tlio age. ; tJ All but thirteen years of his life have j d jeon spent in the service of his country > h -ho is now in his sixtieth year—and hie a rccoril as a sailor ajid a great English- _.\ !iian is such as to have earned him the a admiration and respect of all Austra- -~ lians. It was as a. boy of thirteen years v , that Lord Jellicoe entered the British a Navy. That wa-s in 1H72. On 4th August, |> ]!>l4, the day tliat Great Britain declared „ war on Germany, he was chosen to take fl •Minmand of the British Grand Fleet, of j, which he was in supreme command at j Hie battle of Jutland. The responsibility j, thus thrust upon him was enormous. The ,] fleet under his control represented tho jj concentration of »(, least l>o per cent of s the naval defensive power of the British a Empire. In his main column at the o battle of Jutland Lord Jellicoo had 24 f) modern battleships, whose aggregate \ artillery power was greater than 111,000,000 infantry soldiers! He had, be- 0 sides these vessels, nine battle cruisers, under the immediate command of Sir a Dr.vid lVatty, a squadron of light L cruisers, 70 destroyers and a number of . submarines. No other person at any „ limp in the world's history has com- j nianded a force coniparnble in power to that over which Lord Jcllii-uc hud control. And for two years he remained at tho helm, until, in" December, 1910, he T . became First Sea Lord. GRAND FLEET STRATEGY. [ Since hostilities ceased there ha=> been t much discussion as tv the wisdom uf Lord JellicWa (Strategy while in torninand of the British Grand Fleet. He j had been charged with missing the chance ( of a grei.t and decisive imvul victory f when the British and German high sea ■ fleets came into contract at .Jutland. . Admiral Beat I y had engaged the enemy J war ships with his battle i-ruisers, but. j in the face of a threatened torpedo attack Lord .lellicoe diverted the Grand Fleet several points away from the enemy. Critics of the Admiral's action ' claim that he should have got into grips I ' with the Germans, and risked the j' of several ships, if a great victory could I have been achieved in consequence. On | ■ the other hand, l.ord Jellicoe has set |' out in his own book dealing with the j work of the Grund Fleet from lull t>l IUI6 the reasons which actuated him in his handling of the licet at Jutland. To many people his hook has proved a sufiicient answer to all criticism. A decisive; defeat of the German lleet at Jutland,] it b> admitted, would most likely have j brought the war to a much speedier conclusion, hut on the other hand, had ; the Hriti.-h fleet been destroyed, or even ; injured so greatly as to be reduced i below the German tleet in power, the ■ plight of the Empire and of the Allies would have been well nigh hopeless. The German fleet took to its heels at Jutland, and Lord Jellicoe forbore irom the risk of leading the British fleet, upon wh>se safety so much depended, into the danger of a night engagement, where luck as', much as .-kill would play a. part in the : result. There arc critics who have , blamed Livid .lellicoe for hU prudence; j others equally capable of expressing an opinion have" voiced the view that the course he took was the only one possible j in the best interests of the Empire. i Towards the end of lulti Lord Jellicoe [ relinquished command of the Grand i Fleet and became Sea Lord. He I held office at the Admiralty until December, 1917, when his appointment was terminated ill circumstances that gave rise to considerable comment at. the time. There were many who thought, and wlu did not hesitate to state, that Sir John Jellicoe, as he then was. had been the victim of political intriguing. When he was made a peer as a reward for bis i distinguished service, it was unanimously agreed that never had such an honour been more richly deserved. Early this year, before starting on his tour of the Dominions. Lord .lellicoe was made an Admiral of the Fleet. DOGGED PERSEVERANCE. To few nvn is the opportunity given to rnrve out a career of such magnitude and ] brilliance as that standing to the credit i of Lord Jellicoe. He owes his position not to influence, hut to sheer dogged perseverance and natural ability. His life has been full o* incident. As a young ofiicer he specialised in gunnery, Hiul when he became a lieutenant in ISSO he possessed three first-class certificates. In 1882, when serving as a lieutenant on board H.M.s. Agincourt. he took part in the fighting in the Egyptian war, and was awarded the Khedive's bronze medal fnr his services. In IHSIi he was awarded tho Board of Trade silver medal for having commanded a gig, manned by volunteers, which set out to rescue the crew of a steamer stranded on a sand bank near Gibraltar. A heavy sea was running, and the boat capsized, hut the crew, being provided with cork jackets, mannged to reach the shore in safety. Lord Jellieoe was assistant to the Director of Naval Ordnance from ISSB to IS<»]. On Snjfli June, 1801, he became a commander, and was serving in H.M.s. Victoria when I she foundered off Tripoli, after :. rnllNinn j with H.M.s. Camperdown, on 27th June, j lSf>3. Admiral ('. G. Tryon, who w.is in ! command of the Mediterranean at the I time, went down with the Victoria, when j she sank, and 21 officers and :{.">(» seamen j also 10-t their lives. During the Boxer j outbreak Lord Jellicop, who was then :i < flag captain in H.M.s. (Vnfurion. took I part in Admiral Sir K. 11. Seymour* international expedition to relievo tho Peking ilegations. In the expedition lie acted as chief stall ofiicer, was wounded, and afterwards received the C.B. for his services. Jle was naval .assistant to the Controller of tlip Navy from February, r.Ur-i, to August. IHO3:' captain of 11. M.R. Drake, from August, ini>:S. t> January, 11)03, and Director of Xnval Ordnance and Torpedoes from 1005 to August. 1007. In the previous March he had been made aide-de-camp to the Kin;:, a post which he held until Stli February, l>lo7. when he became an admiral. Hi 1008 he was appointed Third Sea Lord and Controlley of the Navy, and in 1011) he was given command of the Atlantic Fleet. The fdllowing year he commanded the second division of the Home Fleet, and in 1012 he was appointed Second Sea Lord. In recognition of his service* during the war he received the G.C.15. on Stli February, 191."), and on 31st May, l!)l(i, he was awarded the Order of Merit. During his stay in Australia Lord Jellicoe lived up to the reputation which, early in his career in the Xavy earned for him the universal nickname of '"Silent John." Numerous attempts were made, to interview him, but the Admiral so far has declined to embark upon more than a pleasant conversation. He is described as a man of rather less than average height, but very erect. There is no austerity in his demeanour, and those who have met him speak of him as a kindly English gentleman, of infinite courtesy and endowed -with an abundance of good humour. He is accompanied by liis wile. Lady Jellicoe,