Henry Keppel

{{Short description|Royal Navy Admiral of the Fleet (1809–1904)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = Admiral of the Fleet The Honourable | name = Sir Henry Keppel | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCB|OM}} | image = Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel.jpg | caption = Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel | birth_date = {{birth date|1809|6|14|df=y}} | death_date = {{death date and age|1904|1|17|1809|6|14|df=y}} | birth_place = Kensington, London, England | death_place = Piccadilly, London, England | burial_place = St Mary the Virgin, Winkfield | nickname = | allegiance = United Kingdom | branch = Royal Navy | service_years = 1822–1879 | rank = Admiral of the Fleet | unit = | commands = {{HMS|Childers|1827|6}} {{HMS|Maeander|1840|6}} {{HMS|St Jean d'Acre|1853|6}} {{HMS|Rodney|1833|6}} {{HMS|Colossus|1848|6}} Cape of Good Hope Station South East Coast of America Station China Station Plymouth Command | battles = First Carlist War First Opium War Crimean War Second Opium War | awards = Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Member of the Order of Merit Legion of Honour (France) Order of the Medjidie, 2nd Class (Ottoman Empire) | other_work = | spouse = Katherine Louisa Crosbie (div) Jane Elizabeth West }} Admiral of the Fleet '''Sir Henry Keppel''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCB|OM}} (14 June 1809 – 17 January 1904) was a Royal Navy officer. His first command was largely spent off the coast of Spain, which was then in the midst of the First Carlist War. As commanding officer of the corvette {{HMS|Dido|1836|6}} on the East Indies and China Station he was deployed in operations during the First Opium War and in operations against Borneo pirates. He later served as commander of the naval brigade besieging Sebastopol during the Crimean War. After becoming second-in-command of the East Indies and China Station, he commanded the British squadron in the action with Chinese pirates at the Battle of Fatshan Creek when he sank around 100 enemy war-junks. He subsequently took part in the capture of Canton during the Second Opium War.

Keppel went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station, then Commander-in-Chief, South East Coast of America Station, Commander-in-Chief, China Station and finally Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.

==Early career== [[File:Fatshan Creek.jpg|thumb|left|The advance of the British boats under Keppel's command during the Battle of Fatshan Creek by Oswald Walters Brierly]]

Keppel was born to William Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle, and Elizabeth Southwell Keppel, daughter of Edward Southwell, 20th Baron de Clifford. He joined the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth as a cadet in February 1822,<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/34297?docPos=1|title=Sir Henry Keppel|year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/34297 |access-date=24 January 2015}}</ref> and was appointed a midshipman in the sixth-rate HMS ''Tweed'' on the Cape of Good Hope Station.<ref name=heath141>Heathcote, p. 141</ref> Promoted to lieutenant on 28 January 1829, he transferred to the fifth-rate HMS ''Galatea'' on the North America and West Indies Station in February 1830 and to the fifth-rate HMS ''Magicienne'' on the East Indies and China Station in July 1831.<ref name=heath141/>

Promoted to commander on 30 January 1833, Keppel became commanding officer of the brig HMS ''Childers'' in May 1834.<ref name=heath141/> His first command was largely spent off the coast of Spain, which was then in the midst of the First Carlist War.<ref name=heath142>Heathcote, p. 142</ref> He was deployed in operations in support of the liberal forces of Maria Christina, the Regent of Spain at the time of the minority of Isabella II, who had faced a revolt by Carlos, Count of Molina.<ref name=heath142/> He was then engaged with the West Africa Squadron in operations to suppress the slave trade.<ref name=heath142/>

Promoted to captain on 5 December 1837, Keppel became commanding officer of the corvette HMS ''Dido'' on the East Indies and China Station and was deployed in operations during the First Opium War and in operations against Borneo pirates.<ref name=heath142/> He went on to become commanding officer of the fifth-rate HMS ''Maeander'' in November 1847 and was again deployed in operations against Borneo pirates.<ref name=heath142/><ref name="publications">The story of these two commands was told by himself in two publications, ''The Expedition to Borneo of HMS Dido for the Suppression of Piracy'' (with extracts from the journal of James Brooke) (1846), and in ''A Visit to the Indian Archipelago in HMS Meander'' (1853). The substance of these books was afterwards incorporated into his autobiography, which was published in 1899 under the title [https://archive.org/stream/sailorslifeunder01kepp/sailorslifeunder01kepp#mode/1up ''A Sailor's Life under four Sovereigns'']</ref>

In 1849, the English schoolmaster James Summers was arrested and imprisoned while on an excursion to Portuguese Macau for failing to doff his hat for a festival procession celebrating the Feast of Corpus Christi. Keppel, then the captain of HMS ''Maeander'', requested the Portuguese authorities in Macau to release Summers, which was rejected. An incensed Keppel formed a rescue party from the crew of ''Maeander'' and attacked the gaol where Summers was held, freeing him. However, the raid led to an international incident between Britain and Portugal as four Portuguese soldiers and the daughter of a gaoler were killed or injured. Maria II of Portugal was deeply angered after hearing of the raid, and tensions only cooled after the British government apologised and paid reparations.<ref>{{cite book|last=Norton-Kyshe|first=James William|title=History of the Laws and Courts of Hong Kong|publisher=Vetch and Lee Ltd (1972 reissue)|date=1898}}</ref>{{rp|244–248}}

Keppel became commanding officer of the steam line-of-battle ship HMS ''St Jean d'Acre'' in May 1853.<ref name=heath142/> When the Crimean War broke out on 1854, HMS ''St Jean d'Acre '' formed part of the Baltic Fleet and the ship was deployed to the Black Sea.<ref name=heath142/> Keppel swapped commands with the captain of the sailing line-of-battle ship HMS ''Rodney'', whose crew were all ashore, in July 1855 and served as commander of the naval brigade besieging Sevastopol in August and September 1855.<ref name=heath142/> He transferred to the command of the second-rate HMS ''Colossus'' in the Baltic Fleet in January 1856 and then assisted with the re-embarkation of the British troops in the Crimea.<ref name=heath142/> For his part in the Crimean War Keppel was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 5 February 1856,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=21846|page=426|date=5 February 1856}}</ref> appointed a member of the French Legion of Honour on 2 August 1856<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=21909|page=2699|date=4 August 1856}}</ref> and awarded the Turkish Order of the Medjidie, 2nd class, on 3 April 1858.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=22122|page=1735|date=3 April 1858}}</ref>

Promoted to commodore, Keppel became second-in-command of the East Indies and China Station, with his broad pennant in the frigate HMS ''Raleigh'', in September 1856.<ref name=heath142/> HMS ''Raleigh'' was lost on an uncharted rock near Hong Kong, and, although Keppel was subsequently court-martialed, he was honourably acquitted for the loss of the ship. He then transferred his pennant to the sixth-rate HMS ''Alligator''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pdavis.nl/China2.htm |title=Second Anglo-Chinese War ("Opium war") of 1856 – 1860 |publisher=William Loney |access-date=24 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503184523/http://www.pdavis.nl/China2.htm |archive-date=3 May 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> After commandeering the chartered steamer {{HMS|Hong Kong|1857|2}}, he commanded the British squadron, which consisted of the ''Hong Kong'' and seven gun boats, in the action with Chinese pirates at the Battle of Fatshan Creek in June 1857 when he sank around 100 enemy war-junks.<ref name=heath142/> For his part in this action Keppel was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 12 September 1857.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=22040|page=3113|date=15 September 1857}}</ref> He also took part in the capture of Canton in December 1857 during the Second Opium War.<ref name=heath142/>

==Senior command== [[File:BombardementOfSebastopolHMSRodney.jpg|thumb|left|The second-rate HMS ''Rodney'' taking part, under Keppel's command, in the bombardment of Sebastopol; the ship later became Keppel's flagship on the China Station]] The prevalence of peace gave Keppel no further chance of active service.<ref name=heath142/> Promoted to rear admiral on 22 August 1857,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=22035|page=2927|date=28 August 1857}}</ref> he was appointed a Groom in Waiting to the Queen on 24 September 1859<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=22310|page=3529|date=27 September 1859}}</ref> and became Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station, with his flag in the frigate HMS ''Forte'', in May 1860.<ref name=heath142/> During the sea passage out to this station he was accused of developing a relationship with Lady Grey, the wife of Sir George Grey, the Governor of Cape Colony,<ref name=darwin>Darwin, p. 335</ref> and was hastily transferred to become Commander-in-Chief, South East Coast of America Station instead.<ref name=heath142/> [[File:Henry Keppel.JPG|thumb|right|As depicted by James Tissot in Vanity Fair, 22 April 1876]] Promoted to vice admiral on 11 January 1864,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=22806|page=157|date=12 January 1864}}</ref> Keppel went on to be Commander-in-Chief, China Station, with his flag in the second-rate HMS ''Rodney'', in January 1867.<ref name=heath143>Heathcote, p. 143</ref> Promoted to full admiral on 12 July 1869<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=23516|page=3958|date=13 July 1869}}</ref> and advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 20 May 1871,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=23739|page=2473|date=20 May 1871}}</ref> he took up his last command when he became Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth in November 1872.<ref name=heath143/>

Keppel was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 5 August 1877,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=24497|page=4957|date=24 August 1877}}</ref> appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the Queen on 9 March 1878<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=24565|page=2129|date=22 March 1878}}</ref> and retired in June 1879.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=24734|page=3967|date=17 June 1879}}</ref> In 1883 he bought Grove Lodge, a property in Winkfield in Berkshire, and made it his home.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/winkfield-row-conservation-area-appraisal-pt1.pdf |title=Winkfield Row conservation area appraisal |publisher=Bracknell Forest Borough Council |page=20 |access-date=24 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115703/http://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/winkfield-row-conservation-area-appraisal-pt1.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

He was among the original recipients of the Order of Merit (OM) in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published on 26 June 1902,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Coronation Honours |date=26 June 1902 |page=5 |issue=36804}}</ref> and received the order from King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace on 8 August 1902.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Court Circular |date=9 August 1902 |page=6 |issue=36842}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27470|page=5679|date=2 September 1902|}}</ref>

Sir Henry Keppel died in London on 17 January 1904 and was buried at the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin in Winkfield.<ref name=heath143/>

==Family== On 25 February 1839 Keppel married Katherine Louisa Crosbie, daughter of General Sir John Crosbie. Keppel's relationship with Lady Grey was discovered by her husband Sir George Grey in 1860, and this, together with accusations of infidelity against Sir George Grey, led to the breakdown of their marriage.<ref name=darwin/> Keppel married Jane Elizabeth West, daughter of Martin John West on 31 October 1861. By his second wife, he had one son, Colin Richard Keppel, and one daughter, Maria Walpole Keppel, who married Admiral Sir Frederick Tower Hamilton.<ref name=heath142/>

==Legacy== Keppel Harbour, a stretch of water at the southern tip of Singapore, was named in his honour as he had been instrumental in clearing the straits of pirates.<ref>{{cite book|title=Memoir of Sir Henry Keppel, G.C.B., Admiral of the Fleet|page=161|first=Algernon|last=West|author-link=Algernon West|publisher=Smith, Elder & Co|date=1901}}</ref> The tower of St Mary's Church, Bishopstoke was built in 1909 to commemorate Keppel.<ref name="2018Pevsner105">{{Harvnb|O'Brien|Bailey|Pevsner|Lloyd|2018|p=105.}}</ref>

==Works== *{{cite book|first=Henry|last=Keppel|title=The Expedition to Borneo of HMS. Dido for the Suppression of Piracy|year=1846}}<ref name="publications"/> *{{cite book|first=Henry|last=Keppel|title=A Visit to the Indian Archipelago in HMS Meander|year=1853}}<ref name="publications"/> *{{cite book|first=Henry|last=Keppel|title=A Sailor's Life under four Sovereigns (autobiography)|year=1899}}<ref name="publications"/><ref>{{cite journal|title=Review of ''A Sailor's Life under four Sovereigns'' by Admiral of the Fleet the Hon. Sir Henry, G.C.B., 3 vols.|journal=The Athenaeum |issue=3722|date=February 25, 1899|pages=233–234|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oWlIAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA233}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources== *{{cite book|last=Darwin|first=Charles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7Py_BTfX98C&pg=PA336 |title=The Correspondence of Charles Darwin|year=1860|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521442411}} *{{cite book|last=Heathcote|first=Tony|title=The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734–1995|publisher=Pen & Sword|year=2002 |isbn=0-85052-835-6}} *{{cite book|last1=O'Brien|first1=Charles|last2=Bailey|first2=Bruce|last3=Pevsner|first3=Nikolaus|author-link3=Nikolaus Pevsner|last4=Lloyd|first4=David W.|title=Hampshire: South|series=The Buildings of England|year=2018|publisher=Yale University Press|location=London|isbn=978-0-300-22503-7}}

==Further reading== * Stuart, Vivian. ''The Beloved Little Admiral: The Life and Times of Admiral of the Fleet the Hon. Sir Henry Keppel, GCB, OM, DCL, 1809-1904'' (Hale, 1967). * {{cite wikisource |first=William Richard |last=O'Byrne |chapter=Keppel, Henry |title=A Naval Biographical Dictionary |year=1849 |publisher=John Murray }}

==External links== {{commons category|Henry Keppel}} * {{Gutenberg author |id=25589| name=Henry Keppel}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Henry Keppel}} * [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=546 William Loney] Career History * {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Keppel, Sir Henry|volume=15|page=752}}

{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef | before=Sir Frederick Grey}} {{s-ttl | title=Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station | years=1860}} {{s-aft | after=Sir Baldwin Walker}} |- {{s-bef|before=Stephen Lushington}} {{s-ttl|title=Commander-in-Chief, South East Coast of America Station|years=1860–1861}} {{s-aft|after=Richard Warren}} |- {{Succession box| title=Commander-in-Chief, China Station | before=Sir George King | after=Sir Henry Kellett | years=1867–1869}} |- {{succession box | title=Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth | years=1872–1875 | before=Sir Henry Codrington| after=Sir Thomas Symonds}} |- {{s-hon}} {{s-bef | before=Sir James Hope}} {{s-ttl | title=First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp | years=1878–1879}} {{s-aft | after=Sir Astley Key}} {{end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keppel, Henry}} Category:1809 births Category:1904 deaths Henry Keppel Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Category:Members of the Order of Merit Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War Category:Royal Navy admirals of the fleet Category:Younger sons of earls Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Second Opium War Category:People from Winkfield Category:Officers of the West Africa Squadron