Admiral Sir John Beverley Kerr, (27 October 1937 – 2 December 2019) was a senior officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

Career

During his naval career Kerr commanded a frigate, a

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a prim ...

, and the aircraft carrier .Second World War Experience Centre
archived webpage In 1986 he was appointed Flag Officer First Flotilla. He was appointed Chief of Defence Intelligence in 1988. Kerr's naval career culminated in his appointment as Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command and member of the

Admiralty Board The Admiralty Board is the body established under the Defence Council of the United Kingdom for the administration of the Naval Service of the United Kingdom. It meets formally only once a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is ...

in 1991.Senior officers
University of Manchester Kerr retired from the navy in May 1994. In retirement Kerr became involved in the governance of

Higher Education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

. He served on the Council and Court of the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

since 1998 and the Court of

UMIST The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research. On 1 Oct ...

since 2000. He was part of the small group that oversaw the merger of UMIST and the Victoria University, including chairing the committee that drafted the charter of the new

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

and became the Pro-Chancellor from its inauguration in 2004.KERR, Adm. Sir John (Beverley) Who's Who, A & C Black, 2007 In 1998 Kerr became vice-chairman of the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

. He was also a commissioner of the Museums and Galleries. He also served as a member of the national Independent Review of Higher Education Pay and Conditions in 1999. Kerr died on 2 December 2019 at the age of 82.Kerr
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References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, John 1937 births 2019 deaths Military personnel from Cheshire Royal Navy admirals People associated with the University of Manchester Deputy Lieutenants of Lancashire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath