George Jellicoe: SAS and SBS Commander

George Jellicoe, son of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, commander of the British Grand Fleet at Jutland, was never compromised by his privileged upbringing. In this insightful biography, his son describes a life of action, drama, public service and controversy.

George’s exploits with the newly formed SAS, as David Stirling’s second-in-command, and later commanding the SBS, make for fascinating reading. Over four years it embraced the North African and Mediterranean campaigns and culminated in the saving of a newly-liberated Athens from the communist guerrillas of ELAS.

The brutality of Stalinist communism led him to join the post-war Foreign Office. In Washington he worked with Kim Philby and Donald Maclean in the cloak and dagger world of espionage. Resigning in 1958 so he could marry the woman he loved, he turned to politics. Although his ministerial career ended in 1973 after unwittingly become entangled with the Lambton scandal, he continued to sit in the House of Lords becoming ‘Father of the House’. He held numerous public appointments including President of the Royal Geographical Society, Chairman of the Medical Research Council, President of the SAS Regimental Association and the UK Crete Veterans Association.

Thanks to the author’s research and access, this is more than a biography of a significant public figure. It provides fascinating detail of Special Forces operations and the characters of the countless figures with whom he mixed.

Nicholas Jellicoe's life is steeped in British naval tradition. His grandfather, Sir John Jellicoe, commanded the Grand Fleet at Jutland while his father, George, was a minister of defense for the Navy and the last man to hold the time-honored post of First Lord of the Admiralty. Nick's career has been in communications, notably with Rolex. His first book recounted the story of Jutland, while this new work brings the story of the great naval struggle of the First World War to its close.

A digital animation of the events of 21 June 1919, the circumstances surrounding the scuttle and the salvage, as well as a large amount of other reference materials, are available to view on line at www.ScapaFlow1919.com.