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Colin Keppel
Admiral Sir Colin Richard Keppel, GCVO, KCIE, CB, DSO (3 December 1862 – 6 July 1947) was a Royal Navy officer.
He was the son of Admiral Sir Henry Keppel, younger son of William Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle, and his second wife Jane Elizabeth West, daughter of Martin John West. His paternal uncles were Augustus Keppel, 5th Earl of Albemarle and George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle, his maternal uncle was Sir Algernon Edward West. He was educated at Temple Grove and entered the Royal Navy as cadet on the training ship HMS Britannia in 1875.
Keppel served on HMS Sultan in the British Mediterranean Fleet until 1878 and was then transferred as midshipman to HMS Black Prince, the world's second iron-hulled ship. He was aboard HMS Wolverine in Sydney in the next year and was with HMS Inconstant in Asia until 1882. Keppel served as midshipman on HMS Inconstant during the 1882 Egypt campaign.
At the time of the outbreak of the Mahdist War, he moved to HMS Duke of Wellington, the Commander-in-Chief's flagship in Portsmouth, then to HMS Iris, one of the first all steel ships, until 1884.
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.
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.")
A year later, Keppel was appointed equerry and flag lieutenant to Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha until 1893 and was then transferred to HMS Pearl. He was with HMY Royal George in Portsmouth until 1895, and was afterwards promoted to commander and sailed with HMS Skipjack to Gibraltar and with the torpedo gunboat HMS Harrier to Crete in 1897.
In October 1897, on loan to the Egyptian Government, Keppel commanded three gunboats on the Nile, which were despatched from the town of Berber, recently captured by British forces commanded by Herbert Kitchener, south to attack Metemmeh on the Nile, which was held by Dervishes. At dawn on 16 October the ships attacked enemy troops at Shendi, before shelling three forts on the bank of the Nile near Metemmeh, capturing some ships loaded with grain and then retiring. 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. Estimated Arab losses were 500 men, with one Soudanese soldier being killed on one of the gunboats.
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Colin Keppel
Admiral Sir Colin Richard Keppel, GCVO, KCIE, CB, DSO (3 December 1862 – 6 July 1947) was a Royal Navy officer.
He was the son of Admiral Sir Henry Keppel, younger son of William Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle, and his second wife Jane Elizabeth West, daughter of Martin John West. His paternal uncles were Augustus Keppel, 5th Earl of Albemarle and George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle, his maternal uncle was Sir Algernon Edward West. He was educated at Temple Grove and entered the Royal Navy as cadet on the training ship HMS Britannia in 1875.
Keppel served on HMS Sultan in the British Mediterranean Fleet until 1878 and was then transferred as midshipman to HMS Black Prince, the world's second iron-hulled ship. He was aboard HMS Wolverine in Sydney in the next year and was with HMS Inconstant in Asia until 1882. Keppel served as midshipman on HMS Inconstant during the 1882 Egypt campaign.
At the time of the outbreak of the Mahdist War, he moved to HMS Duke of Wellington, the Commander-in-Chief's flagship in Portsmouth, then to HMS Iris, one of the first all steel ships, until 1884.
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.
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.")
A year later, Keppel was appointed equerry and flag lieutenant to Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha until 1893 and was then transferred to HMS Pearl. He was with HMY Royal George in Portsmouth until 1895, and was afterwards promoted to commander and sailed with HMS Skipjack to Gibraltar and with the torpedo gunboat HMS Harrier to Crete in 1897.
In October 1897, on loan to the Egyptian Government, Keppel commanded three gunboats on the Nile, which were despatched from the town of Berber, recently captured by British forces commanded by Herbert Kitchener, south to attack Metemmeh on the Nile, which was held by Dervishes. At dawn on 16 October the ships attacked enemy troops at Shendi, before shelling three forts on the bank of the Nile near Metemmeh, capturing some ships loaded with grain and then retiring. 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. Estimated Arab losses were 500 men, with one Soudanese soldier being killed on one of the gunboats.