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Dover: Lock and Key of the Kingdom
Admiral Sir Roger Keyes
Roger Keyes was born on 4 October 1872 in India, where he
grew up among the blaring bugles and parade ground noises
of the North West frontier. As a small boy he told his parents
“I am going to be an Admiral.”
He joined the Royal Navy in 1885 and in 1900 was promoted
to Commander for his bold action during the Boxer Rebellion
in China. As Commodore in charge of submarines (1910 -
1914) he was partly responsible for the British victory in the
Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914. In 1915 he was
chief of staff for the unsuccessful Dardanelles expedition.
In 1917 Keyes was appointed commander of the Dover Patrol.
He began to prepare operations for the blocking of the ports of
Zeebrugge and Ostend. On the first attempt, the mission to
Zeebrugge was a success but the Ostend blockships ran
aground before reaching their objective. Two weeks later
Keyes sent HMS ‘Vindictive’ to Ostend, where its volunteer
crew sank the ship in the harbour entrance.
After the war Keyes was knighted and was also given the
Freedom of Dover. He held a number of commands, including
Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean (1925 -29) and
Commander, Portsmouth (1929-31), attaining the rank of
Admiral of the Fleet in 1930. He was MP for Portsmouth from
1934 until 1943. Briefly, in May 1940, he returned to
prominence in an attack on Neville Chamberlain’s conduct of
World War 2. He was elevated to the peerage in 1943, taking
as his title Baron Keyes of Zeebrugge and Dover.
He died on 26 December 1945 and that night in a radio
broadcast to the nation Winston Churchill said:
“We have lost one of the great sailors of the Royal Navy, who
embodied its traditions and renewed its glories. It was by
men like him, in whom the fire and force of valiance burned,
that our island was guarded during perilous centuries. The
fame of Zeebrugge will hold its place among our finest naval
actions.”
Keyes was given a state funeral in Westminster Abbey and
after the ceremony he was taken to St James’ Cemetery,
Dover. There, in the reddish glow of a winter’s sunset, he was
laid to rest among his fallen comrades of the Zeebrugge Raid.
grew up among the blaring bugles and parade ground noises
of the North West frontier. As a small boy he told his parents
“I am going to be an Admiral.”
He joined the Royal Navy in 1885 and in 1900 was promoted
to Commander for his bold action during the Boxer Rebellion
in China. As Commodore in charge of submarines (1910 -
1914) he was partly responsible for the British victory in the
Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914. In 1915 he was
chief of staff for the unsuccessful Dardanelles expedition.
In 1917 Keyes was appointed commander of the Dover Patrol.
He began to prepare operations for the blocking of the ports of
Zeebrugge and Ostend. On the first attempt, the mission to
Zeebrugge was a success but the Ostend blockships ran
aground before reaching their objective. Two weeks later
Keyes sent HMS ‘Vindictive’ to Ostend, where its volunteer
crew sank the ship in the harbour entrance.
After the war Keyes was knighted and was also given the
Freedom of Dover. He held a number of commands, including
Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean (1925 -29) and
Commander, Portsmouth (1929-31), attaining the rank of
Admiral of the Fleet in 1930. He was MP for Portsmouth from
1934 until 1943. Briefly, in May 1940, he returned to
prominence in an attack on Neville Chamberlain’s conduct of
World War 2. He was elevated to the peerage in 1943, taking
as his title Baron Keyes of Zeebrugge and Dover.
He died on 26 December 1945 and that night in a radio
broadcast to the nation Winston Churchill said:
“We have lost one of the great sailors of the Royal Navy, who
embodied its traditions and renewed its glories. It was by
men like him, in whom the fire and force of valiance burned,
that our island was guarded during perilous centuries. The
fame of Zeebrugge will hold its place among our finest naval
actions.”
Keyes was given a state funeral in Westminster Abbey and
after the ceremony he was taken to St James’ Cemetery,
Dover. There, in the reddish glow of a winter’s sunset, he was
laid to rest among his fallen comrades of the Zeebrugge Raid.
