JELLICOE

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 141, 11 December 1935, Page 16

JELLICOE

HIS LAST DAYS

TRIBUTES TO MEMORY

CALM, SILENT, STRONG-

(From "The Post's'- Representative.) LONDON, November 23. a Earl Jellicoe led his ex-servicemen to pay homage at the Cenotaph on Armistice Day. This entails standing for some considerable time before and after the Two Minutes' Silence, and the baring of the head for a certain part of the time. The actual chill which led to his death was contracted on this occasion. Although he felt the effects of standing in Whitehall in the chill November air, he decided to attend the Empire Festival of Remembrance at the Albert Hall the same night. Earl Jellicoe sat in the royal box chatting with the Duchess of York and joining heartily in "Pack Up Your Troubles," "Tipperary," and all the other rousing choruses which are sung at this annual reunion. On the following day, however, he felt far from well, but because he knew it would have the effect of stimulating interest in the work of the British Legion, of which he was vicepatron and formerly president, he decided to be present at the naming ceremony of a new locomotive at Euston Station. He christened the engine "British Legion," nnd paid a tribute to the men of the L?M.S. Railway who fought in the war. He also made a plea that other large employers should' follow the example of the L.M.S. in employing as many disabled men as possible. Earl Jellicoe cut his hand with a splinter of glass when he broke the bottle of champagne against the locomotive's name. A bulletin issued on November 17 stated that he had been obliged to cancel all his engagements for the next three weeks owing to a chill that he had contracted at the service. The bulletin added: "This has slightly affected one lung, but Lord Jellicoe is making satisfactory progress." Since then he had made progress, and even on the morning of his death it was stated that the improvement in his condition was satisfactory. Ten hours later he had passed quietly away in the presence of all his family. FIRST PUBLIC, ANNOUNCEMENT. The first public announcement was made at the coming-of-age dinner of the City Livery Club at Guildhall. There were nearly 800 persons present when Alderman Sir George Broadbridge said: "Admiral of the Fleet Earl Jellicoe was to have'responded to the toast of 'Our Guests' tonight, but we have received a message from Lady Jellicoe, who was to have been with him here, that he passed away this evening. In reverence for a great Briton, a man who stood beside this country in its time of need and stress, I know you would like to mark that reverence by standing in silence for one minute." ! A very special tribute is paid in the Court Circular from Buckingham Palace. The first paragraph of the Circular of November 21 states that the King has learned with profound sorrow of the death of Earl Jellicoe. The paragraph proceeds:— "The King knows that the loss of this great seaman will be deeply felt throughout the whole Empire, and not least by the people of New Zealand, the Royal Navy, and the ex-servicemen, whose confidence and affection he quickly won by his devotion to their welfare." BLEDISLOE'S TRIBUTE. Lord Bledisloe pays- the following tribute:— "Nowhere in the British Empire will the loss of Lord Jellicoe be more deeply felt than in New.. Zealand, where, both as Governor-Gerj'eral and as a most lovable man, he earned the deep affection and respect of all classes and both races. While scrupulously maintaining the dignity and prestige of his high office, he went down among the people at a time when they were feeling acutely the losses and casualties of the war, and participated sympathetically in their social and recreational activities. He had all the modesty and simplicity, innate refinement, and freedom from pomposity which are characteristic of the really great and which are nowhere more respected than in our overseas Dominions. Lord Jellicoe was, moreover, a good sportsman, an earnest and sincere Christian, and an indefatigable worker who set a standard of viceregal assiduity and versatility which his successors have found it difficult to emulate." THE BISHOP OF LONDON. The Bishop of London (Dr. Winning-ton-Ingram), presenting the report of the Church of England Council of Empire Settlement, paid a tribute to the late.Lord Jellicoe, who, he said, was the first chairman of their council and at the time of his death was their patron. He had been a personal friend of Lord Jellicoe long before the war, andthe-last thing they did together was on November 9, when they planted poppies outside St. Margaret's, Westminster. Lord Jellicoe's courage, steadiness, and judgment contributed to a large.extent to the winning of the war. Since the war he had given himself with unflinching devotion to the helping of wounded soldiers and sailors. His death was a tremendous loss, and they would cherish his memory with affection as long as time would last. ' The Archbishop of Canterbury, associating himself with the tribute, said it was his privilege, which he should never forget, to spend a long sojourn as the guest of the late Lord Jellicoe on board his flagship in the early days of the war. He would never forget the impression left on his mind of his character, his personal courage, his deep sense of responsibility, and his simple, manly piety. In manifold spheres he had served his country with single-hearted devotion, and today they mourned the passing in. him of a great sailor, a great churchman, and a great Christian. "MODEL OF INTEGRITY." News of Earl Jellicoe's death came as a great shock to Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty, who is now lying ill at his London home. "I did not even know he was ill," said <Earl Beatty. "It is a terrific blow to me. Jellicoe had all the highest ideals for, which the British Navy stands. The country owes a deep debt of gratitude to him for the valiant work he did during the war and for the British Legion. He was an upright man and model of integrity in everything he undertook. As a commander he won the greatest respect from all with whom he came in contact. The tradition of the British Navy meant a great deal to him and he made that tradition even more glorious." When Mr. Lloyd George was told he said: "I am exceedingly sorry. ' He was almost the last of 'the.: foremost military and naval leaders of the Great War. Although we had our differences during the war as to the best method of dealing with the submarine attack, our personal relations were always of the very best. I never doubted that the view he took was prompted by the highest sense of

duty. He was always straightforward, and in every sense I found him a patriot and a gentleman." GIFT OF CALMNESS. Admiral Sir Mark Kerr said: "He was a great Admiral both in strategy and tactics and he had the gift of calmness. Jellicoe never spoke ill of other people or decried anything they had done. He never replied to attacks on himself—to do so would have meant decrying someone else. He was a sportsman and a great family man. That always came next to his Service work." Major-General Sir Frederick Maurice, president of the British Legion, said:— "Like Lord Haig, Lord Jellicoe died in the service of his comrades. Immediately he became president of thei British Legion, he travelled throughout the country and made himself acquainted with the work of the"legoin. We snail find it a great gap to fill in our ranks." Admiral Sir Hugh Watson said: "In the passing over of Admiral of the Fleet Earl Jellicoe the nation has lost one of its greatest unselfish members. His whole thoughts were for the welfare of others." News of Earl Jellicoe's death was received at Ventnor, in the Isle of Wight,\with the deepest sorrow.. For a number of years he had lived at St Lawrence Hall, in sight of the sea he loved. He was a familiar figure driving his car on shopping expeditions in Ventnor. He took an active interest in the local branch of the British Legion. Until a year or two ago he was a frequent spectator at Ventnor cricket club matches and played goif often on the Sandown links. LINKED WITH NELSON. Lord Plender, speaking at the banquet of the City Livery Club at Guildhall, said:— "There looks down on us in this hall a monument, that of Horatio Nelson, which is a symbol of a victorious engagement culminating in the victory at Trafalgar, that glorious day in the annals of the British Navy, when the power of a dictator was broken over a century ago. Lord Jellicoe, whose name will for ever be linked with that of Nelson, helped by his strategy to save the Empire in the Great War and destroyed the ambitions of a ruthless enemy. "There was no man more beloved in England, none more simple, none' more modest. His restraint and silence in the face of criticism—often uninformed, often unjust—inspired his countrymen with the greatest pride and admiration. His death stuns us and we bow before the inscrutable decree of Providence." GERMAN REGRET. The sincere regret of the German Navy at the death of Earl Jellicoe (says the Berlin correspondent of the ."Daily Telegraph") was expressed by Admiral Raeder, its Commander-in-Chief. "Throughout the German Navy," he said, "Earl Jellicoe was highly esteemed as a chivalrous opponent during the World War, especially at the Battle of Jutland, and he had many personal friends and admirers among the older officers. The navy deplores his premature death, all the more because it knows that he cherished a wish to pay a visit to the new German Navy and its leaders. In accordance with this desire it had been intended to invite him to do the German Navy the honour of taking part in a commemorative ceremony in the spring of 1936 for the men who fell at Jutland, both English and German. The German Navy lowers its flag before the great Admiral of the British Navy." Major-General Sir lan Hamilton: "I have known Earl Jellicoe since the very early days when Lord Fisher told me that 'He had a little man with a rat-trap mouth in which he would'catch the German Fleet.' "Since that time I have been very much in touch with Lord Jellicoe until the 12th, when he christened the British Legion engine, with Sir Josiah Stamp. It is a very great shock to all his friends—and he had no. enemies." > THE LAST TRUMP CARDS. In the German newspaper "Berliner Tageblatt," the editor, Herr Paul Scheffer, defends Earl Jellicoe against his critics, who allege that he did not risk a decisive naval battle. Scheffer says:— "Both sides wished to avoid a naval decision, because both sides regarded their fleet as the last trump card for coming peace negotiations." Lord Jellicoe's merits as CJiief. of the Fleet, he declares, stood above his critics and "Germany takes her. hat off to a chivalrous opponent who always spoke with moderation and great respect of the men of the other side." 1 The paper also points out that the Anglo-German naval; agreement has put an end to these conditions, since there can be no further naval rivalry between Germany and England. "The Times," in considering the prolonged controversy - concerning the Battle of Jutland, says:— "But those who looked for the second Trafalgar forgot that, as Lord Jellicoe subsequently reminded them in his own account of the battle, Nelson fought with 'a relatively small portion of the available British fleet." Jellicoe had in his hands the whole fortunes of the Allies. The battle might or might not have been fought with greater decision or success. It can be argued indefinitely. But for those who can. neglect .the tactical record and consider the place of Jutland in the story of the whole war, the last word was said long ago by Mr. Churchill. 'Jellicoe was the only man on either side who could lose the war in an afternoon.' It would have been much to destroy or for ever cripple the German Fleet, but it would have been everything to have hazarded his own. When strident voices are raised against him it is well to recall with ■ what tenacity in tha*> unprecedented clash of sea-power, in that day of smoke and obscurity, a cool and undramatic commander remembered bis supreme responsibility"