*The Orders and Medals awarded to Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Kelly G.C.B., G.C.V.O., Royal Navy. Having served with distinction in the Great War in command of H.M.S. Dublin, and also in the inter-war years, he was promoted to full Admiral in 1930. In the wake of the Invergordon Mutiny of 15-16 September 1931, which shook Britain to its foundations and caused panic on the London Stock Exchange, Kelly was asked personally by the King himself to take command of the Atlantic Fleet and to restore order and discipline, which he was able to achieve only by virtue of his ‘reputation on the lower deck for good sense, plain speaking (and) absolute honesty’. He served as first and principal naval A.D.C. to King George V between 1934 and 1936, comprising: The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Military Division, Grand Cross (G.C.B.) set of insignia, comprising sash badge, in silver gilt and enamels, 83.5mm width, and breast star, in silver gilt and enamels, 91.5mm width, with original case of issue; Royal Victorian Order, Grand Cross (G.C.V.O.) set of insignia, comprising sash badge in silver gilt and enamels, marked ‘607’ to reverse, 72mm width, and breast star, in silver gilt and enamels, marked ‘607’ to reverse, 87.5mm width, with original case of issue; Queen’s South Africa, 1898-1902, 3rd type reverse, 2 clasps, Cape Colony, South Africa 1902 (Lieut. J. D. Kelly, R.N., H.M.S. Forte.); 1914-15 Star (Capt. J. D. Kelly, R.N.); British War and Victory Medals, 1914-1919, the latter with bronze M.i.D. spray of oak leaves (Capt. J. D. Kelly. R.N.), the first officially re-impressed or corrected, some abrasions; Jubilee Medal, 1935; France, Legion d’Honneur, Officer’s breast badge in silver gilt and enamels, 40mm width; France, Croix de Guerre, 1914-1917, with palm upon ribbon; Italy, Order of the Crown, Commander’s neck badge in gold and enamels, 50mm width; Medals attractively framed around central portrait of the recipient, with named bronze plaque below, group toned, good very fine or better (12) . C.B.: London Gazette: 1 January 1919; France, Legion d’Honneur, 4th Class: London Gazette: 27 May 1919; Italy, Order of the Crown of Italy, 3rd Class: 6 June 1916; K.C.B. London Gazette: 3 June 1929; G.C.V.O. London Gazette: 13 July 1932; G.C.B. London Gazette: 3 June 1935. Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Donald Kelly (1871-1936) was born at Southsea on 13 July 1871, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Holdsworth Kelly, Royal Marine Artillery, and his wife Elizabeth (née Collum), of Bellevue, County Fermanagh. He joined the Royal Navy in 1884, being promoted to Midshipman in 1886, to Sub-Lieutenant in 1891, and to Lieutenant in 1893. He served for a period of six years on the Australia station, the last three of which were spent aboard the flagship Royal Arthur. After qualifying as a Gunnery Officer he served in the cruiser H.M.S. Forte on the Cape Station (during the Boer War), being promoted to Commander in 1904. He served as Commander on the China station, and then at Home, being promoted again, this time to Captain in 1911. He served for a year and a half as superintendent of physical training between 1913 and 1914, before returning to sea service in command of the light cruiser H.M.S. Dublin in the Mediterranean, just prior to the outbreak of hostilities in WW1. During the Great War he distinguished himself when the Dublin, along with her sister ship, H.M.S. Gloucester (under the command of his younger brother Captain (Sir) William Archibald Howard Kelly, were the only ships able to keep touch with the German battle-cruiser Goeben when she had successfully avoided the British battle-cruiser squadron in 1914. He was also in command of H.M.S. Dublin when she was attacked by an enemy submarine and hit by a torpedo off the Albanian coast on 9 June 1915, being attacked again on 14 and 15 December 1915, for which he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy for his ‘professional ability of the highest quality’ shown during his handling of the ship under attack. Captain John Kelly was second in command of the Dardanelles Force at Gallipoli and supported the allied landing. He commanded the cruisers Devonshire and Weymouth, and battle-cruiser Princess Royal between 1917 and the end of the war. After the war in 1919 Kelly was appointed Director of Operations Division of the Naval Staff at the Admiralty, being promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1921. He was appointed A.D.C. to the King in 1921, and between 1922 and 1923 he served as Rear-Admiral with the Home Fleet, a detachment of which under his command spent several months in the Dardanelles and the Bosphoros during a period of disturbances in Turkey. In 1924 he was appointed Fourth Sea Lord, and was promoted to Vice-Admiral in 1926. He returned again to sea service in 1927, commanding the first battle squadron and as second in command of the Mediterranean Fleet for a period of two years. He was promoted to Admiral in 1930, and had sent a letter to the Admiralty requesting that he retire in order to allow for the promotion of younger officers, however before this was put into effect, a political crisis occurred in 1931, requiring a reduction in naval pay (amongst other issues). Such was the displeasure created amongst the men of the Royal Navy, that this decision brought about the ‘Invergordon Mutiny’. Crews from a number of ships chose not to accept further orders, starting a ‘mutiny’ (sometimes considered a strike or period of industrial action), but without violence or major disturbance. Despite these considerations, news of the Invergordon Mutiny created chaos on the London Stock Exchange and a run on the Pound which resulted in the U.K. coming off the gold standard. Admiral John Kelly was chosen specifically, in all likelihood by King George V himself, to take over command of the Atlantic Fleet with the task of restoring order and discipline amongst the men. Kelly was well-known and liked amongst the men - he had been boxing champion of the Fleet, and had gained respect for his sensible approach and true naval bearing. A stoker from H.M.S. York later remarked of Kelly, after a speech given to the crew: “Now that man – the men in the Navy trusted him. He didn’t come up the gangway and be piped aboard the same as most Admirals, he came over the boom (i.e. as a sailor would come aboard).” In a letter home written by Hubert Fox on 13 October 1931, a Midshipman aboard Warspite, described Kelly’s speech: ‘He told us that he had been talking for two hours to the King before taking up his command. Among other things, the King showed him that his mind was still completely naval and that he understood sailors as well as anyone. He was heartbroken over the recent unrest. Admiral Kelly then explained that the sailors were absolutely loyal to H.M.’s person and crown, as well as to their officers, but he honestly thought that they had been tried too hard – a sailor, he said, did not mind any hardship, death, or anything else, but if his wife and family were tampered with he put his foot down.’ (The Invergordon Mutiny, by Ereira, refers, pg. 168). He was able to achieve restore order quickly by virtue of his ‘reputation on the lower deck for good sense, plain speaking (and) absolute honesty’. In recognition of this success he was appointed G.C.V.O. in 1932. Kelly was then appointed first and principal naval A.D.C. to the King between 1934 and 1936, and commander in chief at Portsmouth. He held that command for two and a half years when at sixty-five years old (the compulsory age for retirement), he was specially promoted to Admiral of the Fleet, flying his union flag in that rank for one day before retiring to Greenham Hall, Taunton. He died just a few months later on 4 November, 1936, at London, after which he was buried at sea with full Naval honours. In his personal life, Kelly was married in 1915 to Mary, daughter of Thomas Hussey Kelly, of Glenyarrah, Sydney, Australia, with whom he had one daughter. This lot also offered with a copy of ‘The Invergordon Mutiny’ by Ereira, and a quantity of related paperwork and research.
Estimate: £6000-£8000