John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe

Lore & Background

Jellicoe was born on 5 December 1859 in Southampton, Hampshire, the son of a captain in the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. He joined the training ship HMS Britannia as a naval cadet in 1872 and served as a midshipman on HMS Newcastle and HMS Agincourt. He fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War and the Boxer Rebellion, where he was badly wounded during the Battle of Beicang and told he would die but confounded the attending doctor and chaplain by living. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath and given the German Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd class, with Crossed Swords for services rendered in China.

Reader's Guide

Jellicoe's significance lies in his command of the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, the largest clash of dreadnoughts. His handling of the fleet remains controversial: some historians characterize him as too cautious, while others fault the battlecruiser commander, Admiral David Beatty, for tactical errors. Jellicoe made no significant mistakes during the battle, correctly deploying the Grand Fleet to cross the T of the German High Seas Fleet, which then retreated. The public was disappointed that the Royal Navy had not won a more dramatic victory given their numerical superiority, but defeat would have been catastrophic for Britain. As First Sea Lord, he oversaw the expansion of the Naval Staff and the introduction of convoys, though he initially opposed convoys, arguing they presented too large a target. He was relieved at the end of 1917. He later served as governor-general of New Zealand in the early 1920s.

Did You Know?

• Jellicoe was aboard HMS Victoria when it collided with HMS Camperdown and sank off Tripoli in Lebanon on 22 June 1893.
• He was awarded the Board of Trade Silver Medal for rescuing the crew of a capsized steamer near Gibraltar in May 1886.
• He was badly wounded during the Battle of Beicang in the Boxer Rebellion and told he would die but confounded the attending doctor and chaplain by living.
• Churchill described Jellicoe as 'the only man on either side who could lose the war in an afternoon.'