Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir John Hereward Edelsten (12 May 1891 – 10 February 1966) was a senior

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer who went on to be

Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Thomas Williams (Royal Navy officer), Si ...

Early life

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

Naval career

Edelsten joined the

in 1908.Sir John Hereward Edelsten
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, kcl.ac.uk; accessed 8 April 2016. He served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and then became Deputy Director of Plans in 1938. He also served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

initially as Senior Naval Officer during operations against

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

before becoming

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station in 1941. 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. After the War he commanded 1st Battle Squadron and then 4th Cruiser Squadron before becoming Vice Chief of the Naval Staff in 1947. He was made Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in 1950; this post was dual hatted from 1952 as NATO Commander Allied Forces Mediterranean. In this capacity he conducted a two-day visit to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. His last post was as

and NATO Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief, Channel Command in 1952; he retired in 1954. He was also First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the Queen from 1953 to 1954. Edelsten was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the 1953 Coronation Honours.

Family

On 14 December 1926, Edelsten married Frances Anne Hoile Masefield at the Holy Trinity Church in London.Ancestry.com. London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Frances was born 14 October 1900 in Broughty Ferry, Forfarshire, Scotland to Henry Valentine Masefield and Caroline Gordon.

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Edelston, John 1891 births 1966 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy admirals of World War II Lords of the Admiralty Admiralty personnel of World War II People from Enfield, London Military personnel from the London Borough of Enfield