Admiral Jellicoe

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ADMIRAL JELLICOE

by

ARTHUR APPLIN

+-----------------------------------------------------------------+ | ADMIRAL JELLICOE | | | | | | UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME | | | | | | Lord Roberts: | | | | THE STORY OF HIS LIFE | | | | By ROY VICKERS | | | | "A thrilling tale of the adventures of the Great | | Field-Marshal.... Well written and makes a suitable gift | | book." | | --DAILY CALL. | | | | | | Also at 1/6 net | | | | Lord Kitchener: | | | | THE STORY OF HIS LIFE | | | | By HORACE G. GROSER | | | | "An excellent life ... giving just the information the | | general reader requires, and its perusal enables | | everyone to understand the great part Lord Kitchener | | has played in recent history." | | --THE FIELD. | +-----------------------------------------------------------------+

[Illustration: SIR JOHN JELLICOE AS CAPTAIN]

ADMIRAL JELLICOE

by

ARTHUR APPLIN

London C. Arthur Pearson Ltd. Henrietta Street, W.C. 1915

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I. THE BOY AND THE MAN II. EARLY DAYS ON THE "BRITANNIA" III. CADET--MIDSHIPMAN--LIEUTENANT IV. THE SINKING OF THE "VICTORIA" V. THE BOXER RISING IN CHINA VI. THE SPIRIT OF DRAKE VII. AS ORGANISER VIII. VICE-ADMIRAL IX. 1911-1913 X. SUPREME ADMIRAL OF THE HOME FLEETS

FOREWORD

In trying to chronicle the events in Admiral Sir John Jellicoe's life one is faced with many difficulties, the greatest of which is that hitherto his most important battles have been fought on land, behind closed doors and, as far as the public is concerned, in the dark.

Although Sir John Jellicoe has seen active service in Egypt and in China, has sailed his ships on many seas and gone down into the Valley of the Shadow on no fewer than three occasions, he has nevertheless managed to give valuable years to the Admiralty on shore; and it was during the periods when he became successively Assistant Director of Naval Ordnance, Naval Assistant to the Controller of Navy, Director of Naval Ordnance and Controller of the Navy that his most valuable work was done.

Another important position behind the scenes which he filled was that of Superintendent of the building of ships of war in private as well as in Royal Dockyards.

The object of this little book is better to acquaint the general public with the man who stands with his hand at the helm of the Ship of England's destiny, the ship in which we must all sink or swim. Never since the days of Nelson has such a responsibility been vested in one man. Never in the history, not only of our Empire, but of the world, has the issue of the fight for sea power and supremacy been so vital, so tremendous.

What our ships and sailors have accomplished in the past gives us hope for the future, and courage to wait in the silence of the long night that now hides England and her defenders from one another.

But above all we are confident, because we have faith in the man who was sent us with the hour; the man on whom the cloak of the Emir of the Sea--"Emir-al-Bahr"--has fallen.

That this brief sketch of the Sea Lord and his career is altogether unworthy of him I am quite aware. My apology for offering it to the public must be that it is the first attempt to give any coherent account of his life that has been made. A life, as I have already pointed out, which has been lived behind the scenes, devoted to duty, careless of opinion, fearful of applause.