The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1920-01-05
VISITING British Admiral
Comes of Fighting Family


the opportunity Of seeing the fore
most representative Of the British sea-
dog breed. For forty-seven Of the
aomiral's sixty years, he has served in
the British navy. Only In recent years
has he been on shore duty and IN his
young days he scrapel elbows with
death more than once and earned
''Hell-fire Jack" for nickname.
The man who held so strongly tho
helm Of England's seapower during
the world war, saw active service in
the Egyptian war Of 1888 and the
Boxer rebellion. As a boy lieutenant Of
3 he earned the Khedive's bronze star
| and from his boyhood he was re-
garded by his associates as one whose
future was bound by no Limitation.
His Ferebears Sea Fighter.
Admiral Jellicoe comes OF race of
sea fighters. His great-grandfather
Admiral Patton. was second sea lord
at the Battle of Trafalgar.
After a few years of school at Rot
tingdean he was placed on the old
training ship Britannia. at Dart
mouth. when only l. years old. Here
he passed first in all his examinations
and showed that extraordinary apti-
tude for absorbing knowledge without
apparent effort which has led to his
being termed the possessor of'a hun
cry brain" 4. q.
SO seriously wounded during the Boxer
rebellion that the flagship doctor said
| 1t was practically impossible for him
to recover. But he did not reckon
on the blued-steel pluck and uncon-
querable vitality OF his patient. who
several months later was playing
tennis.
While lying in torture from this
wound Jellicoe had to be kept in
dirty native boat. Here members
OF his command tried to reassure
him with an encouraging statement
of the situation. which was really
pretty bad, the small British force
being cut off from communication
and heavily outnumbered. Jelli-
GOES only reply to the attempt to
glaze over things was n cold. Tell
me the truth" And when he knew
the worst. a taciturn. Hard luck
Just now" was his only comment.
Decorated BY Kaiser.
For his work in the Boxer cam
paign Jellicoe was made a knight
Commander OF the Bath and was
given the Order of the Red Eagle
by the late Emperor of Germany.
! One Of Jellicoe's narrowest escapes
\ from death was when the great
| Victoria" was rammed and sunk in
fifteen minutes by the Camper
| down" in 1893 as a result of a care
less order issued by the fleet COM
mander. Jellicoe, then q Junior off,
Ger, was sick from fever, but when
he left his cabin on the Victoria he
went below to hurry up anyone
who might be there instead of 60
ing on deck Immediately to make
his escape. When the big cruiser
went down he was putting up the
| signal to lower the boats He was
rescued from the water in an ex
hausted condition and would prob
ably have drowned IL a midshipman
had not supported him. In tbs
catastrophe Jellicoe lost a silver
medal given him for Sallantry by
the Board of Trade. When he ap-.
piled for a duplicate, he was told
he could have tiff he paid for II.
To date the admiral has not done so.
Were it not for the lurking humor
Of his coolly confident eyes and
certain humorous lines about his
mouth, Jellicoe's features would be
hard. He is a man who bends 9TH
ers to his will infexibly and quietly.
He never fuses" or gives the
rushed" impression, nor worries
or drives his subordinates. But he
never makes a request or issues an
order twice. .
swept Channel Clean.
Strong and silent. without swank
and with ceasehss vigilance, he
swept the Channel clean and swung
the headlong force of England's navy
when the time was ripe. His hard.
high lighters chin and thinkers fore
head was the combination for the
feat.
Like England's other great naval
hero, Lord Nelson, Jellicoe Is a short
man. By strange coincidence he was
born on Nelson's 10ist centenary. And
the sea Is In his blood. During the
war he said to a friend: II don't like
being up in London like q fish out
Of water. I'd rather feel a ship under
my feet"
| Jellicoe's technical skill Is regarded
az marvellous. While at the Royal Ma
val College he won a special prize for
gunnery and when commander of the
Drake" made her the top dog Of
the British navy in Workmanship.
During the war q great deel OF his
/ time went to the experimenting Of
battleship construction. He Is an ex-
celleut shot, swimmer, boxer and ten
mis- player.
| In 1901 Jellicoe married Miss Gwen.
ioline Cayzer. daughter Of Sir Charles
CayZer. They have four daughters.
/ Ar the nnfhrnaG Tatlta.s~ -.