Admiral Edward Kelly (1822-1892)
/Admiral Edward Kelly, late Admiral Superintendent of Chatham Dockyards, is commemorated in a memorial in the North Nave Aisle.
IN MEMORY
OF
EDWARD KELLY
LATE ADMIRAL DUPERINTENDENT
OF
HM. DOCKYARD CHATHAM,
BORN APRIL 26,1836. DIED JAN: 16. 1822,
DIS WORK WAS DONE:
IN SINGLENESS OF HEART, FEARING GOD.
Edward Kelly was born on April 26 1836 and entered the Navy in 1850 at the early age of 14. He became the 1st It. of HMS BOMBAY, 67 guns, which was destroyed by fire off Montevideo on 14th December 1864. He formed part of the Naval Brigade from Fld Pelorus, a wooden corvette armed with 20 x 8 in. and 1 x 66 pdr. guns. Her tonnage was 1,462bm and she was 200 x 40 feet. She was built in Devonport Dockyard and launched on 5th February 1857. She was broken up in 1869.
He was promoted Captain on 22nd October 1870. He commanded HMS ACHIILES during the Egyptian War of 1882. Appointed ADd to the Queen 1885-1887. From 1st January 186 - 10 June 1887 he was Captain Superintendent of Pembroke Dockyard. Promoted to Rear Admiral 10th June 1887 he became Admiral Superintendent of CHATHAM Dockyard on 1st November 1887 where he remained until his death on January 16th 1892. He died of influenza at Admiralty House, Chatham and was buried in Rochester Cathedral Cemetery.
Base Modern English Biography*
* The dates given for Edward Kelly in Base viz. 26.6.1836 - 17.1.1892 differ from those which appear on his menorial.
The same source says of his death, "he died of syncope resulting from an aneurism of the heart which had lain dormant since severe rheumatic fever contracted from exposure at the burning of the Bombay."
The Burial Register of Rochester Cathedral gives the following details:
Edward Kelly buried on January 21st 1892, aged 55, in grave no. 112, the Rev. S. S. Brown, Naval Chaplain officiating.
The further details of Admiral Kelly's career has been supplied by the Dockyard Historical society:
1850 - Cadet HMS Castor, during the Kaffir War 1850. Entitled to South Africa Medal.
1857-58 - Lieutenant HMS Calcutta in China waters. Entitled to China medal.
1860-61 - Lieutenant HMS Pelorus New Zealand War. Entitled to medal. He appears in the medal roll for services in New Zealand 1860-61.
Of his behaviour on the Bombay when she was burnt out (q.v.) it is said that he remained aboard until he was nearly suffocated. He was highly spoken of for his services.
30.10.74 - 11.1.78. Captain of the Malabar.
24.4.78 - 31.8.78 Captain of the Cyclops
22.7.79 - 7.9.80 Captain of the Newcastle
Sep 1880- Oct.1882 Captain of Achilles
Oct. 1882 - Oct.1885 Captain of the Indus.
Thence to service with Chatham Dockyard (q.v.)
From the notebooks ‘The Naval and Military Memorials of Rochester Cathedral’ (1979)
by Roy Trett, OBE, TD,
Rochester Cathedral Chapter Library
The medieval tombs of the Presbytery and Quire Transept have had a tortured history which many effigies apparently moved and several defaced along with the medieval memorials and brasses over the Early Modern period.
Rochester Cathedral features an exceptionally large collection of Colonial-era military memorials and artefacts. This series has begun to highlight the stories behind these collections and their place in our global heritage.
