James Henry Kelly

Military Information

  • Date of enlistment: 1902
  • Place of enlistment:
  • Service no: 221292
  • Rank: Leading Seaman
  • Service Occupation:
  • Awards:
  • Regiment/Service: Royal Navy
  • Unit/Ship: H.M.S. Vanguard
  • Place of Death: Lost at Sea, Scapa Flow
  • Age at Death: 31
  • Date of Death: 09.07.1917
  • Burial Country:
  • Cemetery: Chatham Naval Memorial
  • Grave/Mem Ref no: Panel 21

Personal Information

  • Date of Birth:
  • Place of Birth:
  • Address: 26 Pitfour Street, Dundee
  • Occupation:
  • Mother:

    Mrs Kelly, Oldham, Lancashire

  • Father:

    Mr Harry Kelly, Oldham, Lancashire

  • Siblings:
  • Spouse:

    Jenny Maclaren Kelly, c/o Magregor, 214 Lippincote St, Toronto, Canada

  • Children:

More about James Henry Kelly

James has no known grave but is remembered on the Chatham Naval Memorial. He was the Son of the late Mr & Mrs Kelly of Oldham, Lancashire.

James was serving aboard H.M.S. Vanguard, a St Vincent Class Battleship. On the night of 9 July, 1917 Vanguard was anchored in Scapa Flow. In a matter of seconds a devastating internal explosion destroyed the ship killing all but 2 of the 845 men on board at the time. The explosion that sank the Vanguard was not the result of an enemy attack, but the result of an internal explosion of faulty Cordite.

The Royal Navy’s Command Clearance Diving Team carried out a detailed investigation in 1975. Their investigation confirmed that this explosion destroyed virtually all explosive ordnance on board and blew the ship apart.

James H. Kelly   221292   Royal Navy

KELLY___Killed on 9th July, in the explosion on board H.M.S. Vanguard, James H. Kelly, leading seaman, beloved husband of Jenny Maclaren, 26 Pitfour Street, Dundee, and only son of the late Mr and Mrs Kelly, Oldham, Lancashire, England.

Dundee People’s Journal 21st July 1917

James H Kelly was the son of the late Mr and Mrs Harry Kelly, Oldham, Lancashire and was married to Mrs Jenny Kelly of 26 Pitfour Street, Dundee. He joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Second Class in 1902 and served in several ships. He was advanced to Leading Seaman in December 1913 whilst at the Naval Barracks in Chatham, Kent. From there he was drafted to the battleship HMS Vanguard in March 1914 and served in this ship until she was destroyed by an internal explosion whilst at anchor in Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. 873 men died and there were only two survivors. James Kelly was onboard the Vanguard during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 and he is named on the Chatham Naval Memorial.

Iain Stewart and Iain Birnie

Information supplied by Gary Thomson, additional information kindly supplied by Michael Caldwell.

Further information supplied by Iain Stewart and Iain Birnie

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