GROUPS AND SINGLE DECORATIONS FOR GALLANTRY Cape Spartivento
But it was for his subsequent services in the Mediterranean that Kelly was awarded his D.S.M., when the Penelope, commanded by Captain A. D. Nicholl, D.S.O., R.N., and her consort the cruiser H.M.S. Aurora, commanded by Captain W. “Big Bill” Agnew, C.B., R. N., and their destroyer escorts, formed part of Force ‘K’.
It was an intense period of operations, one of the Force’s early successes being the brilliant night action against an enemy convoy fought off Cape Spartivento on 8-9 November 1941. On that occasion, the enemy was sighted at 0050 hours, and Penelope’s guns went into action a few minutes later, quickly putting out of action the Italian destroyer Grecale and sinking another. With such important enemy escorts out of the frame, the Penelope and Aurora proceeded to lay waste the remainder of the enemy convoy over a period of 30 minutes or so, an action related in detail by Ed Gordon in his definitive history, H.M.S. Pepperpot:
‘There were two highlights for the Penelope men, recorded in the ship’s log. One was the tanker which ‘exploded with tremendous violence and filled the air with burning and exploding debris’. Crewmen on deck saw the sea around the tanker catch alight as thousands of gallons of petrol (for Rommel’s tanks and motor transport) spilled out. Mussolini’s Mare Nostrum was burning! The other highlight was a forty-thousand-ton ammunition ship blowing up ‘in a huge ball of sparks sending a curtain of bright colours against the night sky to a height of 1,500 feet’ ... At 0123 a plaintive voice in Penelope’s director control tower was heard by the bridge team to say: “Is that enough?” No, it wasn’t. A small transport had been sighted behind the burning tanker. Once again Penelope’s four-inch guns crashed out and the ship blew up ... A minute later Penelope had to engage another of the distant destroyers. She was firing from a range of five miles to the west. Penelope’s four-inch salvos again blazed away. After only three minutes, ‘A Christmas tree of sparks rising to between 200 and 300 feet was seen from the destroyer’s position and she ceased firing,’ stated the report ... ’
Very shortly all that could be seen were numerous enemy ships burning fiercely, and Captain W. “Big Bill” Agnew gave the order for Force ‘K’ to set course for Malta. As it transpired, Penelope had fired 60 broadsides, using 259 6-inch shells and 111 rounds of 4-inch, while her crew had, in the words of Captain Nicholl, ‘shown great steadiness under fire and carried out their duties with the spirit and coolness of a seasoned crew.’
Penelope and Force ‘K’ intercepted another enemy convoy on 24 November, sinking two ships west of Crete and winning a congratulatory message from Churchill, while on 19 December Penelope was lucky to survive a run-in with a minefield - though herself slightly damaged, Neptune and Kandahar were lost on the same occasion.
Operation “M.G. 1”
Hasty repairs and two convoys later, she participated in Malta convoy Operation “M.G. 1” in late March 1942, when she was present in the ‘brilliant action’ fought against the Italian Fleet, which endeavoured to intercept the convoy off Sirte - Penelope fired 13 broadsides and damaged an enemy cruiser on the same occasion. Penelope’s also took in tow the damaged Breconshire, the type of gallant work that prompted Churchill to signal Admiral Sir Andrew “ABC” Cunningham, Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet:
‘I shall be glad if you will convey to Admiral Vian and all who sailed with him the admiration which I feel at this resolute and brilliant action by which the Malta convoy was saved. That one of the most powerful modern battleships afloat attended by two heavy and four light cruisers and a flotilla of destroyers should have been routed and put to flight with severe torpedo and gunfire injury, in broad daylight, by a force of five British light cruisers and destroyers, constitutes a naval episode of the highest distinction and entitles all ranks and ratings concerned and above all their commander to the compliments of the British nation.’
Kelly was awarded the D.S.M. H.M.S. Pepperpot - ‘The most intensive air attack made on any ship in the War’
Remaining at Malta for repairs, the Penelope’s crew remained aboard to fight her guns against relentless attack from enemy aircraft - a period that witnessed her firing 6,500 rounds of 4-inch ammunition and winning the sobriquet “H.M.S. Pepperpot”. Gordon Holman’s The King’s Cruisers, takes up the story:
‘Before leaving Malta, H.M.S. Penelope went through a fourteen-day ordeal-by-bomb which was probably the most intensive air attack ever mounted on any ship in the War. Caught in dock, she became the central target for the waves of enemy aircraft. While the work of repairing the cruiser went on by day and night, the crew, including stewards and cooks, kept the guns going. So constantly were they engaged that it became a question of whether the weapons would not wear out before she was fit to put to sea. The repair work was a case of two steps forward and one step back, as each raid added further damage to that already taken in hand.
Only the hours of darkness brought relief to the Penelope. Time and time again bombs were so close to the ship that splinters sprayed over her. It is on record that in the month of April 1942, the enemy, in his raids on Malta - and Grand Harbour was the bull’e eye of his target - dropped 6,730 tons of bombs. The Penelope soon became known throughout the Fleet as “The Pepperpot”, because of the 2,000 splinter holes in her upper-works ... ’
Salerno and Anzio
Following extensive repairs in the United States, and a brief visit to Portsmouth at the end of 1942 - when Kelly was among a large party of Penelope officers and ratings to attend an investiture at Buckingham Palace on 3 November 1942 - the cruiser sailed for the Western Mediterranean.
Quickly back in action, she was hit by a 6-inch shell during a bombardment of Pantelleria in June 1943, but mercifully the round failed to detonate, thereby permitting her subsequent part in the Salerno landings, when as part of Force ‘Q’, she fired no less than 5,000 rounds of 6-inch ammunition in just 14 days.
In October 1943, Penelope assisted in the destruction of an ammunition ship, an armed trawler and six landing craft off Stampalia in the Aegean, but on retiring was attacked by 18 Ju. 87s and sustained at least one direct hit - nonetheless, she managed to get back to Alexandria at 23 knots. Following which, and now under the command of Captain G. D. Belben, D.S.O., D.S.C., A.M., R.N., she was ordered to Anzio in January 1944, where she lent valuable assistance to Force ‘X’ and carried out eight shoots off Formia.
Journey’s End
However, Penelope’s legendary reputation as a lucky ship was soon to be brutally curtailed, for, on 18 February 1944, on leaving Naples for Anzio, she was torpedoed by the U-410, under Oberleutnant Horst-Arno Max Heinrish Fenski. If Kelly was not killed by the first torpedo which hit the After Engine Room, then almost certainly he was by the second torpedo which caused a massive explosion on hitting the Boiler Room - Penelope broke her back and went down in a little more than a minute, taking no less than 400 of her crew with her, including her Captain. It was a remarkable achievement on Oberleutnant Fenski’s part, his first torpedo finding its mark when the cruiser was travelling at 26 knots - as far as can be ascertained a unique case in the annals of U-Boat operations.
Kelly, who was 42 years of age and has no known grave, left a widow, Louisa, of West End, Fareham, Hampshire. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.
www.dnw.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250 |
Page 251 |
Page 252 |
Page 253 |
Page 254 |
Page 255 |
Page 256 |
Page 257 |
Page 258 |
Page 259 |
Page 260 |
Page 261 |
Page 262 |
Page 263 |
Page 264 |
Page 265 |
Page 266 |
Page 267 |
Page 268 |
Page 269 |
Page 270 |
Page 271 |
Page 272 |
Page 273 |
Page 274 |
Page 275 |
Page 276 |
Page 277 |
Page 278 |
Page 279 |
Page 280 |
Page 281 |
Page 282 |
Page 283 |
Page 284 |
Page 285 |
Page 286 |
Page 287 |
Page 288 |
Page 289 |
Page 290 |
Page 291 |
Page 292 |
Page 293 |
Page 294 |
Page 295 |
Page 296 |
Page 297 |
Page 298 |
Page 299 |
Page 300 |
Page 301 |
Page 302 |
Page 303 |
Page 304 |
Page 305 |
Page 306 |
Page 307 |
Page 308 |
Page 309 |
Page 310 |
Page 311 |
Page 312 |
Page 313 |
Page 314 |
Page 315 |
Page 316 |
Page 317 |
Page 318 |
Page 319 |
Page 320 |
Page 321 |
Page 322 |
Page 323 |
Page 324 |
Page 325 |
Page 326 |
Page 327 |
Page 328 |
Page 329 |
Page 330 |
Page 331 |
Page 332 |
Page 333 |
Page 334 |
Page 335 |
Page 336 |
Page 337 |
Page 338 |
Page 339 |
Page 340 |
Page 341 |
Page 342 |
Page 343 |
Page 344 |
Page 345 |
Page 346 |
Page 347 |
Page 348 |
Page 349 |
Page 350 |
Page 351 |
Page 352 |
Page 353 |
Page 354 |
Page 355 |
Page 356 |
Page 357 |
Page 358 |
Page 359 |
Page 360 |
Page 361 |
Page 362 |
Page 363 |
Page 364