OUR ADMIRAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 81, 31 August 1914, Page 6

OUR ADMIRAL.

SIR JOHN JELLICOE.

(By An Old Messmate in the Sydney Telegraph).

The Commander-in-chief of the British Xaval forces employed in the Korth Sea is Vice-Admiral Sir Juilm Rushworth Jellieoe, K.C.8., who holds the acting rank of admiral while so employed. British naval officers, with few exceptions, studiously avoid advertising themselves, and comparatively little is known outside the service of either their abilities or personalities. Sir John is essentially a siient worker, and although his qualifications, for the proud position he now holds, are all known to his brother oflicers, the general public can have very little knowledgo of the eminent services he has rendered the Empire, and the great debt that is due to him. As it has been the privilege of the writer, in years gone, by, to have been associated not only with Sir John, but with practically every Admiral now in command against the foe, some few facts may be of interest, the more especially as they are not likely to be given to the public by the persons most interested.

July has been a lucky month fo'r Jellicoe. I well remember the day in IS7-, when he first joined the Britannia. A somewhat small lad, with dark complexion, a rather large, pronounced nose, and keen, searching eyes, that looked you square in the lace, is my recollections of the lirst impressions 1 had of the boy, who has now risen to the proud position of commanding the largest, most valuable, and greatest force the world has ever seen congregated oil the seas. Jellicoe was a marked man from his very entry into the service. He passed in second on the list for the term, and he left the trairiing ship at the head of it. Such a performance at once stamped him as being ii worker. The whole of 'his after lire has been one continual steady application to his profession, and, as will be seen, his services have not only Veil exceptionally fine, but his devotion tc. authority have made him an authority, and he is to-day admitted the greatest naval tactician and exponent of the methods of modern warfare in active service. After leaving the training ship, and putting in a year or so in the old sailing frigate Newcastle, Jellicoe went to the Agincourt, ilagship of Sir John Coiini'.erell, in the channel. Just about this time the Uusso-Turkis'n war broke out, and the Agincourt was sent with other ships to the Mediterranean to reinforce Admiral llornsby's squadron.

CAREER AFLOAT. So far as Jellicoe was concerned, lie. was lucky enough to serve under the greatest Admirals of the (lay, and he had the opportunity of witnessing the precautionary methods then adopted for the protection of our lirst ironclad lleet. Above all, he learned the lesson of the necessity of patience, and the virtue of apparent inactivity, a lesson that he has never forgotten, and which to-day is helping him in his gigantic task. Jellicoe earned his lieutenancy by obtaining three, lirst-ciass certificates at his examination for the rank of sublieutenant, and was then sent to sea as a watch-keeper on the Agini'ourt again. In this ship he served during the Egyptian war, and was present at the bombardment of Alexandria, and the subsequent operations on shore, lie was given the war medal and the Khedive's star for his services. His services attracted considerable attention from his superiors, and he was sent, back to England to qualify for the gunnery branch of the profession. Again, he did eminently well, not only qualifying with a lirst-cla.-s certificate, but establishing a very high record for himself, and obtaining the £BO prize for te.hnical subjects at the Naval College. In ISSO he was serving as gunnery iieutenant of the Monarch, when, seeing a merchant ship stranded on a sand bank near Gibraltcr. ,he volunteered to j command a whaler sent to rescue the 'crew. The boat, however, failed to • keep alloat ill the heavy seas, and Jellicoe and his men were capsized. Fortunately, no lives were lost, the cork jackets of the crew of the boat keeping them alloat until Ibe were all washed ashore on the beach. The Monarch was at that time engaged at target practice, and had left all her other boats behind her, consequently no assistance could be rendered. For his. gnat gallantry on this occasion Jellicoe was decorated with the silver medal of the Hoard of Trade, a much-prized honor, but rarely bestowed in the navy, Jellicoe was then appointed to the Colossus, the crack battleship of her day, then commanded by our late Admiral. Sir Cyprian Bridge. The. Colossus was, however but a stepping-stone to something better, and Jellicoe was, therefore, at the end of the year selected as a junior stall ollicer, for the command of the Handy, tiij giuikiat attached to tbc Excellent for exper::™:;*.?.! gun trials. Such an appointment stamped the Admiralty's view of Jellicoe's qualifications for the position was then regarded as one of the most important in the service, requiring not only experience, but abilities of a high order. After two years in the Handy, he was appointed senior stall' ollicer on the Excellent, where he remained until lS'.m, when he was selected for service at the Admiralty on the naval ordnance stall'.

AT TIIK ADMIRALTY.

Promotion in tlic navy was at this period almost stagnant,' but jellicoe's claim to recognition stood almost by itself, and in IS'.U lie was graded a commander. It was at tliis period of his service that he iir-t came into prominence at Whitehall, ami when the Hamilton programme of ships was being dosigned 'his great qualifications as a gunnery ollk-cr enabled him to lend the committee! which designed the ships most ■ valuable service. Incidentally, his stay at the Admiralty brought him into close contact with the leading admirals of the time, and he became, not only known, but recognised. Consequently, his appointment as commanded in the .Mediterranean created no surprise. LYrsonally. 1 think this appointment was the turning-point in .fellicoe's life, for he went to the Nans I'areil, the captain of which was Arthur Wilson, later to he known as Admiral-of-the-Hect -Sir Arthur Wilson, the father of the modern navy of Croat. ISritain. No man now living' has done so much for our maritime service as "Tug" Wilson, and his mantle, as the tactician of the licet, may be said to have now descended to Jol'licoo.

Alter serving with Wilson for some time. Wilson went to the Victoria, the llagship of Sir Ceorge Tryon. I nfortuiiatelv, on the da\ of the great disaster, the commander was on the sick list and at the court-martial -held on the surviving olUcors. the regret of the court was expressed that .lellicoe'.s services had not been available, as it was recognised that the absence of the commander from duty at the critical moment was a great misfortune. The admiral, 21i officers, and 350 men were

missioned the Rainillea as his flagshjp, to tako the Victoria's place, Jellicoe and the surviving officers of the latter ship were appointed to the Ramilles. In this ship ho continued to servo as commander until the close of 1896, and on January 1, 1837, die reached post rank, at the age of 37 years and a few days. Then ensued the customary period of half-pay, always given to a post-cap-tain on promotion. Jellicoe disappeared from view, and excepting at the Admiralty, no one knew what had become of 'him. As a matter of fact, he was touring the. Continent, closely scanning the naval ports and works, and keenly ■inspecting the ships in process of being built. In December Sir Edward Seymour selected Jellicoe as his flag-cap-tain for the China command, and he was appointed to the Centurion. In this ship he took part in the famous attempt to relieve tho Tekin Embassies during the Boxer troubles. He acted as chief-of-stall" to Sir Edward, was wounded during the advance, and was decorated with the C.8., and by tho German Emperor, at the conclusion of the expedition. On his return to England in 11)0*2 he became naval assistant to the Controller of the Kavy, his previous service in the design of ships of the Hamilton programme having established his reputation in this department. Here he remained till August of the following year, when ho went afloat as captain of the Drake, then the finest armored ei'uiser wo possessed, hi this ship he completed tho necessary sea service to qualify him for his Hag, but on Sir John Fisher becoming senior Sea Lord, lie immediately directed Jellicoe to talis up the duty of director of naval ordnance at the Admiralty. iProbably no appointment made by Fisher ever gavo so much satisfaction in the service, for Jellicoe's peculiar qualifications for tho job were admitted on all hands.

THE "ALL BIG GUN." Just how much Jellicoe was responsible tor the Dreadnought creation will be some day history. The credit has hitherto been given to the»constructor, who no doubt had much' to do with the design, but those who know give to •jellicoe the distinction of having created the "all big gun" theory, and there is no doubt whatever but that hia position gave him every opportunity to press his views for adoption, and as his views on the subject were well known throughout the service, there is every reason to believ that he was more or less responsible, not only for the Dreadnought, but also for the design of many o'eher of our more modern battleships. After one of the shortest periods of service as a post captain on record, Jellicoe became a 'Rear-Admiral in l*M)l. llu hoisted his flag lor the lirst time as Rear-Admiral in the Atlantic Fleet, having; been previously created K.C'.V.O. by King Edward at the review of the lleet in August, 1007. In 1908 Jellicoe was brought back to the Admiralty to lake up the most important position of Controller of the Xavy. an appointment which put him in the position to enforce, to some extent, his own views as to the type of ship to be {milt. In WW lie went allout again as acting Vice-Admiral in command of the Atlantic .Squadron, and on the occasion of King George's coronation lie was pro- j moted to be K. 0.8. In IMI he became Vicc-Admiral commanding the second division of the Home Fleet, and led ihis ships to victory in the autumn manoeuvres. (Since 11M3 he has been second sea lord at the Admiralty, hut on the occasion of the last annual exercises of the lleet he. created a sensation by the method in which he used his submarine cruisers. With Sir Percy Scott's opinions Jellicoe is hardly likely to agree, but die may be depended on to ' utilise all arms of the service in their I proper functions, and at the proper I time. I

This is the record of the Admiral who now commands our mighty sea forces. That he is courageous, active, far-see-ing, patient and able has been well established. That lie has the loyal support of his brother admirals, captains and crews is absolutely assured, and that he not an enemy in the world, but the foes of his country, is equally as certain. That the eyes of the Empire are on him will make no dill'erence to Jellicoe, for there is nothing of the actor, in his make-up. lie will do his duty fearlessly and well, and ihe will wait until it appears to him that an overwhelming blow can be delivered before he allows any liberties to be taken with the enemy. He is waiting with his immense lleet, all strung to a high state of tension; surely we can exhibit some small restraint and wait with equal patience the good news we all look for and pray for. s

'i'JlJi I'LAC'SUU'. Tin: li-w.ii Duke, flic new llag-shi.p of Admiral *ir Ooige C.iUughau, Com-inaudor-in-('uief of tin' Horn' Fleets, iirt'scnlri several novel feature,-. She 53 the lint ttritislh Dreadnought to curry ti-in. g'Uiw !>e'liin<l armor for the repelling of t'ol;i)ed (l yvaft. Tliese weapons throw a 1001b projectile, and they are. the Impost iniiii-listiiillost guns in the Jlrihisii 'Navy. Precautious 'have ]„,,.u taken to protcei the yesiscl from 'overhead, atlaefc -by din-'"ihle.-i and aeroplane'. and, lm - cnample, she has 'two 12-poundcr guns in hign-an:;le mountings Sue 'has no torpedo net. d"fence, as it is thougiat that, torpedoes 'having b-.vn so enormously improved, I'liu would lie iiu'ie v an encumbrance. She has no (portholes in her' arrnw. Her mam armament consist* of l-n 1.1.51 U. Kims oi the latest kind, llrr live control 11slnuuents are of the very latest partem, and give the big gun. to* I. • accuracy. '!«« torpedoes a:.- ot uheater type, that is to siy they a.e . u „by 'hot air. They are i\ u*s n diameter, as against, be old 18 inch. • and liaye a speed ot W knois an houi. The Iron linked «uw can u* M |Wdor and shot at the rate ol ±lO-0 U a • Th. vessel is «32f> icct long, minute. Lli.; \issu '■> •-■ „,.;„:,,.7) nearly 10» F t longer than th' ong..ul Dreadnought.