King's College London
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives

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Papers of Adm Francis William Kennedy, CB (1862-1939)

Papers relating to Kennedy's post as Capt of the RN battlecruiser HMS INDOMITABLE during World War One, 1914-1916.

KENNEDY: 1 [1913-1914]

Brief diary-style account of war training for the British Mediterranean Fleet, consisting of exercises and weapons training over a period of a year. 3pp.

KENNEDY: 2/1-2 1914 Oct

Account by Kennedy of the part played by HMS INDOMITABLE in the shadowing and chase of the German battlecruiser GOEBEN and its companion ship BRESLAU by the British Mediterranean Fleet under the command of Adm Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne, between 2 and 11 Aug 1914, and the various reasons for their escape to Constantinople, Turkey. Includes written statements from other members of the crew of HMS INDOMITABLE, and a map showing the route of HMS INDOMITABLE throughout 4 Aug and the relative positions of Milne's ship, HMS INFLEXIBLE, and the GOEBEN on 6 Aug. There are two copies of this file, one handwritten and one typed.

KENNEDY: 3 [1914-1919]

Annotated galley proofs [by Kennedy] entitled 'Narrative from the Indomitable: The escape of the Goeben', a shortened version of the account given in 2. (This text, further corrected, with map, was printed anonymously by the Naval Society in Naval Review, Vol VII, No.1, Feb 1919, pp 110-114). 4pp.

KENNEDY: 4 [1915?]

Extract from a letter by Kennedy to his family describing the bombardment by an Allied squadron of forts at the entrance to the Dardanelles, 3 Nov 1914, as seen from the bridge of HMS INDOMITABLE. 3pp.

KENNEDY: 5 [1915 Aug]

Intelligence reports of the positions of Austrian, Italian, French and German warships. 5pp.

KENNEDY: 6 [1915 Jan]

Summary of information obtained from the survivors of the BLUCHER, a German battle-cruiser sunk at the Battle of Dogger Bank, 24 Jan 1915, including details of the damage done to the ship and the effectiveness of the British attack. 6pp.

KENNEDY: 7 [1916-1939]

Brief personal reminiscence of the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916, at which Kennedy commanded HMS INDOMITABLE, as part of 3 Battlecruiser Sqn under R Adm the Hon Sir Horace Hood, notably including a description of the sinking of HMS INVINCIBLE. Two copies. 2pp.
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