'I am going to be an Admiral': The life and times of Roger Keyes

Published on 24 February 2026
Submitted by Clive Harris

When a confident young master Keyes told his father, a Major General in the Indian Army, of his plans to join the Royal Navy, he provided an indication into the tenacious character traits that would shape his career.

Ambitious, relentless and at times combative, Roger Keyes would grow into one of the most influential sailors in Britain's long maritime history. This talk by Clive Harris discusses his life and experiences from the Boxer Rebellions, through Heligoland Bight,  Gallipoli and Zeebrugge onto the emergence of Combined Operations in the Second World War.

'I am going to be an Admiral': The life and times of Roger Keyes

Other Articles

Basra 1
11 March 2026

A photographic record of the names on the Basra Memorial

Read more
Leigh Roose (1) (1)
9 March 2026

Football in the Dardanelles

Read more
57 Baghdad Northgate Alternate
1 March 2026

A video record of the CWGC Cemeteries and Memorials in Iraq

Read more
Kut Cwgc Cemetery
28 February 2026

A Tour of Mesopotamian War Cemeteries in 2025

Read more
Se5a.
27 February 2026

India’s RAF Ace: Indra Lal Roy’s ten victories in 13 days

Read more