Lord Walter Kerr

Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Talbot Kerr, (28 September 1839 – 12 May 1927) was a Royal Navy officer. After taking part in the Crimean War and then the Indian Mutiny, he supervised the handover of Ulcinj to Montenegro to allow Montenegro an outlet to the sea in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Berlin. He became Flag Captain to the Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron and then Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. He went on to be Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet, then Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Squadron and finally became First Naval Lord. In that capacity he presided over a period of continued re-armament in the face of German naval expansion but was unceasingly harassed by Admiral Sir John Fisher. Early career Born the fourth son of John Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian and Lady Cecil Chetwynd Talbot. Kerr was educated at Radley College and joined the first-rate HMS Prince Regent as a naval cadet in August 1853. He saw action during the Crimean War serving in the first-rate HMS Neptune in March 1854 and then in the third-rate HMS Cornwallis in May 1855. Promoted to midshipman in August 1855, he joined the frigate HMS Shannon on the East Indies and China Station in August 1856. He saw action during the Indian mutiny when the ship's crew landed as a naval brigade in December 1857. Kerr was wounded near Cawnpore but still took part in the capture of Lucknow in February 1858. After being mentioned in despatches on 31 March 1858 and promoted to mate on 28 September 1858, he transferred to the royal yacht HMY Victoria and Albert in June 1859. Promoted to lieutenant on 5 September 1859, Kerr was appointed to the steam frigate HMS Emerald in the Channel Squadron in July 1860 and to the second-rate HMS Princess Royal, flagship on the East Indies and China Station in February 1864. While serving on HMS Princess Royal and ashore in the treaty port of Yokohama, Kerr also found the opportunity to take some of the earliest photographic pictures of Japan and in 1866 helped to establish the first Rugby Football club in the country.