# Colin Keppel

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{{Short description|Royal Navy officer (1862–1947)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [Admiral](/source/Admiral_(Royal_Navy)) [Sir](/source/Sir)
| name             = Colin Keppel
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCVO|KCIE|CB|DSO}}
| image            = CommodoreColinRichardKeppel.jpg
| caption          = Keppel in 1907
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1862|12|03|df=yes}}
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1947|07|06|1862|12|03|df=yes}}
| birth_place      = 
| death_place      = [Winkfield](/source/Winkfield), Berkshire
| nickname         = 
| allegiance       = United Kingdom
| branch           = [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy)
| service_years    = 1875–1913
| rank             = [Admiral](/source/Admiral_(Royal_Navy))
| unit             = 
| commands         = [Rear Admiral Commanding HM Yachts](/source/Royal_Yacht_Squadron) (1905–09)<br/>[HMY ''Victoria and Albert''](/source/HMY_Victoria_and_Albert_(1899)) (1905)<br/>{{HMS|Implacable|1899|6}} (1904–05)<br/>{{HMS|Grafton|1892|6}} (1901–03)<br/>{{HMS|Warspite|1884|6}} (1900–01)<br/>{{HMS|Rainbow|1891|6}} (1900)<br/>{{HMS|Harrier|1894|6}} (1897)<br/>{{HMS|Skipjack||6}} (1896–97)
| battles          = [Mahdist War](/source/Mahdist_War)
| awards           = [Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order](/source/Knight_Grand_Cross_of_the_Royal_Victorian_Order)<br/>[Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Indian_Empire)<br/>Companion of the [Order of the Bath](/source/Order_of_the_Bath)<br/>[Distinguished Service Order](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order)<br/>[Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1st Class](/source/Order_of_Saint_Stanislaus) (Russia)<br/>[Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd Class](/source/Order_of_the_Red_Eagle) (Prussian Empire)
[Grand Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus](/source/Grand_Officer_of_the_Order_of_Saints_Maurice_and_Lazarus) (Kingdom of Italy)
| other_work       = 
| spouse           = Mary Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell
}}
[Admiral](/source/Admiral_(Royal_Navy)) '''Sir Colin Richard Keppel''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCVO|KCIE|CB|DSO}} (3 December 1862 – 6 July 1947)<ref name=ThePeerage>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepeerage.com/p8343.htm#i83428|title=ThePeerage: Admiral Sir Colin Richard Keppel|accessdate=16 December 2006}}</ref> was a [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) officer.

==Background==
He was the son of Admiral [Sir Henry Keppel](/source/Henry_Keppel), younger son of [William Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle](/source/William_Keppel%2C_4th_Earl_of_Albemarle), and his second wife Jane Elizabeth West, daughter of Martin John West.<ref name = Armorial>{{cite book | last = Fox-Davies | first = Arthur Charles | title = Armorial Families | location = London | publisher = Hurst & Blackett | volume = II | year = 1929 | pages = 1092 }}</ref> His paternal uncles were [Augustus Keppel, 5th Earl of Albemarle](/source/Augustus_Keppel%2C_5th_Earl_of_Albemarle) and [George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle](/source/George_Keppel%2C_6th_Earl_of_Albemarle), his maternal uncle was [Sir Algernon Edward West](/source/Algernon_Edward_West).<ref name = ThePeerage/> He was educated at [Temple Grove](/source/Temple_Grove) and entered the Royal Navy as cadet on the training ship [HMS ''Britannia''](/source/HMS_Britannia_(1820)) in 1875.<ref name = AIM25>{{cite web | url = http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=537&inst_id=21&nv1=search&nv2= | title = AIM25 – KEPPEL, Adm Sir Colin (Richard) (1862–1947) | accessdate =26 July 2009 }}</ref>

==Naval career==
[[File:Colin Richard Keppel Vanity Fair 3 March 1909.JPG|right|thumb|Keppel caricatured by [Spy](/source/Leslie_Ward) for [Vanity Fair](/source/Vanity_Fair_(British_magazine)), 1909]]

===Early years===
Keppel served on [HMS ''Sultan''](/source/HMS_Sultan_(1870)) in the [British Mediterranean Fleet](/source/British_Mediterranean_Fleet) until 1878 and was then transferred as midshipman to [HMS ''Black Prince''](/source/HMS_Black_Prince_(1861)), the world's second iron-hulled ship.<ref name = AIM25/> He was aboard [HMS'' Wolverine''](/source/HMS_Wolverine_(1863)) in [Sydney](/source/Sydney) in the next year and was with [HMS ''Inconstant''](/source/HMS_Inconstant_(1868)) in Asia until 1882.<ref name = AIM25/> Keppel served as midshipman on HMS ''Inconstant'' during the 1882 Egypt campaign.

At the time of the outbreak of the [Mahdist War](/source/Mahdist_War), he moved to [HMS ''Duke of Wellington''](/source/HMS_Duke_of_Wellington_(1852)), the Commander-in-Chief's flagship in Portsmouth, then to [HMS ''Iris''](/source/HMS_Iris_(1877)), one of the first all steel ships, until 1884.<ref name="AIM25" />

In December 1884 Keppel was appointed to the 2nd Division of the Naval Brigade under Sir Charles Beresford serving on the Nile for the relief of Khartoum. As such, he was with Beresford on the Nile paddle gunboat ''Safia'' which had to run upriver to rescue Sir Charles Wilson and the men with him from the wrecked gunboat ''Talahawijeh'' and the ''Bordein'', the latter having grounded on Mernat island during its return run (under fire) from Khartoum. It was during this journey that Wilson had established that Khartoum had fallen to the Mahdi and that, in all probability, Gordon was already dead.<ref>Official History; Sir Charles Wilson "Korti to Khartoum"</ref>

Keppel was slightly wounded in the successful but dangerous and arduous attempt to rescue Wilson and his men and get them back to the British base at Metemma; he was highly commended for his conduct and promoted to lieutenant. (Beresford : "I consider that we owe our safety on the steamer, as well as the safety of Sir C. Wilson and his party, who undoubtedly would have been killed if the steamer had been destroyed, to the untiring energy of Sub-Lieut. Keppel.")<ref>Official History; Sir Charles Wilson "Korti to Khartoum".</ref>

A year later, Keppel was appointed equerry and flag lieutenant to [Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha](/source/Alfred%2C_Duke_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha) until 1893 and was then transferred to [HMS ''Pearl''](/source/HMS_Pearl_(1890)).<ref name = AIM25/> He was with [HMY ''Royal George''](/source/HMY_Royal_George) in Portsmouth until 1895, and was afterwards promoted to commander and sailed with [HMS ''Skipjack''](/source/HMS_Skipjack) to Gibraltar and with the torpedo gunboat {{HMS|Harrier|1894|6}} to Crete in 1897.<ref name = AIM25/>

===On the Nile Again===
In October 1897, on loan to the Egyptian Government, Keppel commanded three gunboats on the Nile, which were despatched from the town of [Berber](/source/Berber%2C_Sudan), recently captured by British forces commanded by [Herbert Kitchener](/source/Herbert_Kitchener), south to attack Metemmeh on the Nile, which was held by Dervishes.<ref name = Churchill/> At dawn on 16 October the ships attacked enemy troops at [Shendi](/source/Shendi), before shelling three forts on the bank of the Nile near Metemmeh, capturing some ships loaded with grain and then retiring.<ref name = Churchill/> They returned the following day to discover the defences had been reinforced with more artillery, but continued the bombardment from beyond range of the enemy guns.<ref name = Churchill/> Estimated Arab losses were 500 men, with one Soudanese soldier being killed on one of the gunboats.<ref name = Churchill>{{cite book | author = Winston Churchill | author-link = Winston Churchill | title = [The River War](/source/The_River_War) (Volume 1)| publisher = Longmans Green and Co. | year = 1899 | place = London | pages = 347–350 }}</ref>

Keppel eventually commanded the entire Nile gunboat flotilla and played a major part in the successful British advance along the Nile, leading to the overwhelming victory at Omdurman and the occupation of Khartoum in September 1898. As a reward for his service with the gunboats, Keppel was decorated with the [Distinguished Service Order](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order) and appointed Companion of the [Order of the Bath](/source/Order_of_the_Bath).<ref name = Whitaker>{{cite book | title = Whitaker's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companioage | publisher = J. Whitaker & Sons | year = 1923 | pages = 460 }}</ref>

At the end of the campaign which took Khartoum, Keppel was instrumental in helping to deal with the diplomatically tricky situation upriver at Fashoda, where a French expedition under Major J. B. Marchand had established itself on the Nile. The confrontation, the famous "Fashoda Crisis", briefly looked as if it might cause a war with France, but was successfully and amicably settled.

===Admiral===
Apart from the decorations he received for his services in [Sudan](/source/Sudan), Keppel received the thanks of the [Parliament of the United Kingdom](/source/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom) in June 1899<ref name = "Who'sWho">{{cite book | title = Who is Who 1947 | publisher = Adam & Charles Black Ltd. | location = London | year = 1947 | pages = 1518 }}</ref> and became captain<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 27087 |page=3588 | date = 6 June 1899 }}</ref> commanding [HMS ''Wildfire''](/source/HMS_Wildfire_(1888)).<ref name = AIM25/> Keppel was transferred to [HMS ''Spartan''](/source/HMS_Spartan_(1891)) in the same year and to newly launched cruiser {{HMS|Rainbow|1891|6}} in 1900.<ref name = AIM25/> He subsequently commanded [HMS ''Warspite''](/source/HMS_Warspite_(1884)), and when that ship was relieved as flagship on the [Pacific Station](/source/Pacific_Station) by [HMS ''Grafton''](/source/HMS_Grafton_(1892)) in March 1902, he transferred to ''Grafton'' as flag captain to [Sir Andrew Bickford](/source/Andrew_Bickford), Commander-in-Chief of that station.<ref name = AIM25/><ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence|date=14 December 1901 |page=12 |issue=36638}}</ref> In 1905 he commanded the battleship [HMS ''Implacable''](/source/HMS_Implacable_(1899))<ref name = AIM25/> and was appointed [Commodore, Commanding Royal Yachts](/source/Flag_Officer%2C_Royal_Yachts).<ref name = Whitaker/> Keppel was awarded a Commander of the [Royal Victorian Order](/source/Royal_Victorian_Order) in 1906 and,<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 27918 |page=3843 | date = 1 June 1906 }}</ref> after being promoted to rear admiral in 1908,<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 28164 |page=5731 | date = 4 August 1908 }}</ref> he was advanced to a Knight Commander.<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 28151 |page=4644 | supp = y | date = 23 June 1908 }}</ref> He became second in command of the [British Atlantic Fleet](/source/British_Atlantic_Fleet) in 1909 and was first on [HMS ''Albemarle''](/source/HMS_Albemarle_(1901)), later on [HMS ''London''](/source/HMS_London_(1899)).<ref name = AIM25/> In 1911, he commanded [RMS ''Medina''](/source/RMS_Medina_(1911)) in the squadron which took King George V and Queen Mary to India for their joint coronation as Emperor and Empress of India and as a result he was afterwards invested a [Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Indian_Empire).<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 28559 |page=9631 | date = 8 December 1911 }}</ref> Keppel was promoted vice admiral in 1913,<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 28780 |page=9083 | date = 9 December 1913 }}</ref> retiring a few days later.<ref>{{London Gazette | issue = 28783 |page=9338 | date = 19 December 1913 }}</ref> He was made a full admiral in 1917.<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 30037 |page=3955 | date   =27 April 1917 }}</ref> Keppel received the 1st Class of the Russian [Order of St Stanislaus](/source/Order_of_Saint_Stanislaus_(Imperial_House_of_Romanov)) and the 2nd Class of the Prussian [Order of the Red Eagle](/source/Order_of_the_Red_Eagle).<ref name = Armorial/>

==Further career==
Keppel served as [Aide-de-Camp](/source/Aide-de-Camp) to [King Edward VII](/source/King_Edward_VII) from 1907 until the following year and as Extra Equerry from 1909.<ref name = ThePeerage/> After the king's death in 1910, Keppel was Extra Equerry to his successor [King George V](/source/George_V_of_the_United_Kingdom) until 1912.<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 28383 |page=4075 | date   =10 June 1910 }}</ref> Keppel was nominated [Equerry-in-Ordinary](/source/Equerry-in-Ordinary) in 1913,<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 28678 |page=37 | date = 3 January 1913 }}</ref> fulfilling this office for two years until his relinquishment in 1915, when he was again appointed Extra Equerry.<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 29177 |page=5205 | date = 1 June 1915 }}</ref> Subsequently, he held this post also to [King Edward VIII](/source/King_Edward_VIII)<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 34306 |page=4664 | date   =20 July 1936 | supp = y }}</ref> and [King George VI](/source/King_George_VI) until 1937.<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 34376 |page=1406 | date = 2 March 1937 }}</ref>

Keppel became [Serjeant-at-Arms](/source/Serjeant-at-Arms) of the [British House of Commons](/source/British_House_of_Commons) in 1915,<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 29133 |page=3718 | date = 16 April 1915 }}</ref> resigning after twenty years.<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 34203 |page=6136 | date = 1 October 1935 }}</ref> In 1929, he was appointed a [Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order](/source/Knight_Grand_Cross_of_the_Royal_Victorian_Order).<ref>{{ London Gazette | issue = 33566 | supp = y |page=6 | date = 31 December 1929 }}</ref>

==Family==
On 6 June 1889, he married Mary Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell, daughter of Major General Richard Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell, and had by her two daughters.<ref name = Armorial/> Marie, the older, became the wife of Charles Marsham, 6th Earl of Romney, while her younger sister Melita married [Maurice Hely-Hutchinson](/source/Maurice_Hely-Hutchinson).<ref name=Whitaker/> Keppel died at his country residence, Grove Lodge, at [Winkfield](/source/Winkfield) Row in [Berkshire](/source/Berkshire), aged 84 in 1947; his wife died ten years later.

==References==
{{Commons category|Colin Richard Keppel}}
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=[Sir David Erskine](/source/David_Erskine_(serjeant-at-arms)) }}
{{s-ttl|title=[Serjeant-at-Arms<br/>of the House of Commons](/source/Serjeant_at_Arms_of_the_House_of_Commons)|years=1915–1935}}
{{s-aft|after=[Sir Charles Howard](/source/Charles_Howard_(serjeant-at-arms))}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keppel, Colin Richard}}
Category:1862 births
Category:1947 deaths
Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath
Category:Grand Officers of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Category:Equerries
Colin Richard Keppel
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire
Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Category:Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (House of Romanov)
Category:Royal Navy admirals of World War I
Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Mahdist War
Category:People from Winkfield
Category:Serjeants at arms of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Colin Keppel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Keppel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Keppel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.