2A00:23C6:5D0F:8701:D8E4:2A62:8A33:84E0: Added short description

2025-06-07T23:27:17Z

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{{Short description|Royal Navy officer (1891-1941)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Ralph Kerr
|birth_date=16 August 1891
|death_date= {{Death date and age|df=yes|1941|5|24|1891|8|16}}
|image=Ralph Kerr.jpg
|caption=
|birth_place =
|death_place =Aboard {{HMS|Hood|51|6}} in the [[Denmark Strait]]
|nickname=
|allegiance={{UK}}
|serviceyears= 1904 – 1941
|rank=[[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]]
|branch={{navy|UK}}
|commands= {{HMS|Cossack|1907|6}} {{HMS|Windsor|D42|6}} {{HMS|Thruster|1917|6}} {{HMS|Decoy|H75|6}} Senior Officer, [[Reserve Fleet (United Kingdom)|Reserve Fleet]] {{HMS|Duncan|D99|6}} {{HMS|Hardy|H87|6}} {{HMS|Broke|D83|6}} {{HMS|Hood|51|6}}
|unit=
|battles=[[World War I]]
* [[Battle of Jutland]]
[[World War II]]
* [[Atlantic War]]
** [[Operation Rheinübung]]
*** [[Battle of the Denmark Strait]] {{KIA}}
|awards=[[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE)
|relations=
}}

[[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] '''Ralph Kerr''' [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] (16 August 1891 – 24 May 1941) was an officer in the [[Royal Navy]]. He served in the [[First World War|First]] and [[Second World War]]s, and was killed in the sinking of {{HMS|Hood|51|6}} by the [[German battleship Bismarck|German battleship ''Bismarck'']] at the [[Battle of the Denmark Strait]].

==Early life==
Kerr was born on 16 August 1891, the only son of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Russell Kerr, and his wife Lady Kerr, of [[Newnham on Severn]], [[Gloucestershire]]. He joined the Royal Navy on 15 May 1904, and after service as a [[cadet]] he rose through the ranks, being promoted to Lieutenant on 28 February 1914.<ref name="Biography">[http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/k/KerrR.htm Kerr's biography]</ref> He served in the First World War, spending most of the period aboard the [[battleship]] {{HMS|Benbow|1913|6}}, the [[flagship]] of Admiral Sir [[Doveton Sturdee]]. He was present at the [[Battle of Jutland]] in May 1916, and by 1918 he had been given his own command, that of the [[destroyer]] {{HMS|Cossack|1907|6}}.<ref name="Biography"/>

==With the destroyers==
Kerr was promoted to commander on 30 June 1927, and in December 1928 he was given command of the destroyer {{HMS|Windsor|D42|6}}, followed by {{HMS|Thruster|1917|6}} in August 1929. He commanded ''Thruster'' until February 1931, and after a year on land, returned to sea in February 1932 in command of {{HMS|Decoy|H75|6}}. Promotion to captain followed on 30 June 1935, and on 6 September 1935 he became commander of the [[Flotilla leader]] and captain (D) of the 21st Destroyer Flotilla.<ref name="Biography"/> He stepped down from the position on 22 May 1936. His commander, Admiral Thomson, reported that he had found Kerr to be <blockquote>"A very capable Captain (D) who has trained his Flotilla well. An officer probably much better suited to the practical side of naval life rather than to Staff duties. A strong personality with definite powers of command and a very good seaman. Most loyal and is very thorough in the carrying out of his duties. Social qualities good. Physically fit and has good powers of endurance."<ref name="Biography"/></blockquote>

Kerr became senior officer, [[Reserve Fleet (United Kingdom)|Reserve Fleet]] aboard {{HMS|Caledon|D53|6}} in July 1936, transferring to {{HMS|Colombo|D89|6}} on 3 November 1936.<ref name="Biography"/> As well as being the senior officer of the reserve fleet he then also became chief staff officer to the rear-admiral of the [[10th Cruiser Squadron]], where he remained for the next year, until July 1937. Vice-Admiral [[Gerald Charles Dickens|Sir Gerald Dickens]] also produced a highly favourable report, noting that Kerr was <blockquote>"A very keen zealous officer who has done well as Senior Officer Reserve Fleet. Has plenty of character and drive and is mentally alert. A good seaman and a sound administrator. Very loyal, while ambitious to do well. Good social qualities. Keeps fit."<ref name="Biography"/></blockquote>

Kerr was to have then received an appointment to command the Flotilla leader {{HMS|Duncan|D99|6}}, where he would be captain (D) of the [[8th Destroyer Flotilla]]. The appointment was cancelled before he could take it up, however.<ref name="Biography"/> Instead, after a period of training, he became commander of {{HMS|Hardy|H87|6}} and captain (D) of the [[2nd Destroyer Flotilla]]. During this period he served under Vice-Admiral [[John Tovey]], and impressed both him, and the Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Admiral Sir [[Dudley Pound]].<ref name="Biography"/> Kerr then took command of {{HMS|Broke|D83|6}} and the [[15th Destroyer Flotilla]], later transferring to the [[shore establishment]] [[HMS Cochrane (shore establishment)|HMS ''Cochrane'']], at [[Rosyth]] on 30 August 1939. He remained at Rosyth with the Rosyth Destroyer Force until 24 January 1940, spending time on the staff of the commander-in-chief, Rosyth. He was awarded the [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] in 1940.<ref name="Biography"/>

==HMS ''Hood''==
Kerr took command of the [[battlecruiser]] {{HMS|Hood|51|6}} on 15 February 1941. Command of the Navy's largest capital ship was a major change, Kerr having only previously commanded destroyers.<ref name="Biography"/> He took her to sea on the completion of her refit in mid March, and carried out gunnery exercises and patrols off [[Iceland]].<ref name="Biography"/> He was commander of ''Hood'' for just three months, when he was killed at the [[Battle of the Denmark Strait]], along with most of his crew, when ''Hood'' was sunk by the [[German battleship Bismarck|German battleship ''Bismarck'']]. He was posthumously [[mentioned in dispatches]].<ref name="Biography"/> Kerr is commemorated on Portsmouth Naval Memorial.<ref>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2370052 Casualty details—Kerr, Ralph], [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]]</ref>

==Family==
He had married Margaret Augusta Kerr on 14 February 1920, the marriage producing two children, Russell and Jane. They resided in [[St John's Wood]], [[London]]. Russell Kerr, who had served as a captain in the [[Royal Artillery]] and as a tank commander, was killed while fighting in [[Burma]] in 1945.<ref name="Biography"/><ref>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2086626 Casualty details—Kerr, Russell Charles], [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]]</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*[http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/k/KerrR.htm Kerr's biography at hmshood.com]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Ralph}}
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1941 deaths]]
[[Category:Captains who went down with the ship]]
[[Category:Royal Navy captains]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People from Newnham on Severn]]
[[Category:Royal Navy officers of World War II]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II]]
[[Category:Royal Navy officers of World War I]]
[[Category:People lost at sea]]

Ralph Kerr - Revision history

2A00:23C6:5D0F:8701:D8E4:2A62:8A33:84E0: Added short description