Admiral Sir John Hereward Edelsten GCB GCVO CBE (12 May 1891 – 10 February 1966) was a senior Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.[2]

Early life

Edelsten was born 12 May 1891 in Enfield, Middlesex, England the third son to John Jackson Edelsten and Jessica Gooding.[3] John Jackson Edelsten owned a tea broker business.[4]

Naval career

Edelsten joined the Royal Navy in 1908.[5] He served in World War I and then became Deputy Director of Plans in 1938.[5]

He also served in World War II initially as Senior Naval Officer during operations against Italian Somaliland before becoming chief of staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station in 1941.[5] He was made Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (U-boat Warfare and Trade) in 1942 and Rear Admiral (Destroyers) for the British Pacific Fleet in 1945.[5]

After the War he commanded 1st Battle Squadron and then 4th Cruiser Squadron before becoming Vice Chief of the Naval Staff in 1947.[5] He was made Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in 1950; this post was dual hatted from 1952 as NATO Commander Allied Forces Mediterranean.[5]

In this capacity he conducted a two-day visit to Israel. His last post was as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth and NATO Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief, Channel Command in 1952; he retired in 1954.[5]

He was also First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the Queen from 1953 to 1954.[6]

Edelsten was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the 1953 Coronation Honours.[6]

Family

On 14 December 1926, Edelsten married Frances Anne Hoile Masefield at the Holy Trinity Church in London.[7] Frances was born 14 October 1900 in Broughty Ferry, Forfarshire, Scotland to Henry Valentine Masefield and Caroline Gordon.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Papers of Vice-Admiral Sir John Edelsten". Archivesearch. Churchill Archives Centre.
  2. ^ "Obituary: Admiral Sir John Edelsten". The Times. 11 February 1966. p. 18.
  3. ^ Amarna, Cheri. "Edelsten/Taylor Family Tree". Ancestry.com.
  4. ^ "Edelsten, Sir John Hereward (1891–1966), naval officer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/65600. Retrieved 10 June 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Sir John Hereward Edelsten Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, kcl.ac.uk; accessed 8 April 2016.
  6. ^ a b "No. 39853". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 May 1953. p. 2704.
  7. ^ a b Ancestry.com. London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Military offices
Preceded by Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
1947–1949 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet
1950–1952 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
1952–1955 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp
1953–1954 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom
1955–1962 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom
1962–1966 		Succeeded by