A friend recently sent me a copy of a letter written by a sailor aboard HMS Centurion, the letter is dated July 30th 1914. One sentence I think reads "Saturday (tomorrow), our ship will become flagship under Sir C.B Jellicoe from the Admiralty". Can anyone tell me if this is correct? I've heard of Admiral Jellicoe but understand that his initials were J.R. is this the same man?

Are you sure of the date and ship? I was under the impression that HMS Centurion was sold for scrap in 1910!

When J.R. Jellicoe was appointed second in command of the Grand Fleet it was decided, in discussion with Admiral Sir George Callaghan, that he should hoist his flag in the CENTURION (possibly chosen because Jellicoe had commanded the previous ship of that name on the China Station). I do not know the regulations of the time, but his flag may have been hoisted in the CENTURION for pay reasons on 31st July. He travelled to Scapa Flow by rail and a light cruiser and probably joined the CENTURION on 2nd August. He had been delayed by fog so perhaps that is the explanation.

The National Archives indicates just three RN officers with the surname Jellicoe, with Admiral John Rushworth Jellicoe being the most well known and of course most senior. Neither of the other two had initials "C. B." Over 10 years before the war, around the turn of the century, Capt. J. R. Jellicoe was in command of HMS Centurion (the name ship of that class of battleship) and, at that time, he had been awarded the Order of the Bath (Companion), i.e. C.B. Is there a chance the date could in fact be earlier than 1914?

By the time of his appointment as Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets, just before the war, Jellicoe was Admiral Sir John R. Jellicoe, K.C.B., K.C.V.O.

The Centurion-class battleship was sold for scrap in 1910 and the King George V-class battleship Centurion was launched in 1911 and saw service right through WW1, including Jutland.

Another possibility, I suppose, is that "C. B." was some abbreviation for a nickname.

Martin

Jellicoe "got" his CB in 1900 for services in the Boxer Rebellion and his KCB in 1911. Wonder if it was a mistake (or even a "play") for these ?

Thanks for all your replies, in answer to some of the questions. #1 yes, I'm fairly sure he is writing from H.M.S. Centurion because this name is printed on the top of the first page. #2, as for the correct year, the sailor says in his letter "It seems all a dream to me, last week we were at peace, now we are threatened with the biggest war of all times and if it comes to a battle with the German Navy it will be nothing but a slaughter", I assumed from this that it must have been written in 1914 although it doe's not actually say this at the top of the letter (sorry if I was wrong to assume this). The exact wording at the top reads 2nd battle squadron, July 30th, Friday. Prior to mentioning the name Sir C.B. Jellicoe, the sailor mentions that their Admiral, Sir G. Callaghan, is at the Admiralty in London awaiting his orders.

Just for interests sake, Friday July 30th was in 1915, July 30th in 1914 was on a Thursday.
David

Yes, his "last week we were at peace" comment pretty much confirms 1914. About the date, at a guess I'd say he knew it was Friday but just got the date slightly wrong. The headlines on 31 July were about being on the brink of war. The Naval Reserves were called out by the Admiralty on the 2nd of August.

Just as a matter of interest, do you happen to know the name of the sailor?

Martin

Another possibility could be that the writer got Jellicoe's initials wrong.

The 10,500-ton battleship HMS CENTURION was completed in Feb 1894 and broken up at Morcambe in July 1910, while the larger 23,000 ton CENTURION was completed in 1913 and was scuttled at Normandy on 9 June 1944, but most of you would probably know that ;0

Cheers Ron

[quote name='Martin Elliget' date='Oct 31 2009, 02:36 PM' post='1295160']
Yes, his "last week we were at peace" comment pretty much confirms 1914. About the date, at a guess I'd say he knew it was Friday but just got the date slightly wrong. The headlines on 31 July were about being on the brink of war. The Naval Reserves were called out by the Admiralty on the 2nd of August.

Just as a matter of interest, do you happen to know the name of the sailor?

Martin
His name is Paul Aspinall and he was a signalman, he later served on HMS Vulcan and then on submarine HMS D3 in which he sadly died in 1918.

I did'nt know that, although I havn't had time to look into the Centurion's history yet. Is it still in Normandy or was it salvaged?

Here is his service record, although by the sound of it, you already have this:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...p;resultcount=1

I've never found out what happened to Centurion post-war. It must have been salvaged along with all the other blockships but who did it, and when, I don't know. A lot of the blockships, being freighters, took a severe pounding during the great storm after D-Day, but Centurion survived more or les unscathed as far as I know.

Thank you Martin for this link, actually I have found this page already but havn't yet bought Paul's service record yet. Oddly enough I was going to buy it online tomorrow , along with some others. Most of my information comes from a living descendant of Paul's who I have been in contact with while carrying out research. It has been great to share my information with her, and in return she has been kind enough to share this letter with me. Once again, thank you for all your replies.

Have you seen his CWGC entry? D3 was lost on that day
Name: ASPINALL, PAUL JOHN
Initials: P J
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Leading Signalman
Regiment/Service: Royal Navy
Unit Text: H.M. Submarine D.3.
Age: 23
Date of Death: 15/03/1918
Service No: J/11940
Additional information: Son of Mrs. M. C. Aspinall, of 392, Newhampton Rd. West, Wolverhampton.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: 27.
Memorial: PLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL

Yes I have but thanks anyway, I am researching the D3 and her crew.