Henry Jackson (Royal Navy officer)

Sir Henry Jackson
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Jackson
Born	(1855-01-21)21 January 1855 Barnsley, Yorkshire
Died	14 December 1929(1929-12-14) (aged 74) Hayling Island, Hampshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1868–1924
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	First Sea Lord Royal Naval College, Greenwich 6th Cruiser Squadron HMS Vernon HMS DuncanHMS Vulcan HMS Juno
Battles/wars	Anglo-Zulu War First World War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Grand Cross of the Order of Naval Merit (Spain) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Bradwardine Jackson, GCB, KCVO, FRS (21 January 1855 – 14 December 1929) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving in the Anglo-Zulu War he established an early reputation as a pioneer of ship-to-ship wireless technology. Later he became the first person to achieve ship-to-ship wireless communications and demonstrated continuous communication with another vessel up to three miles away. He went on to be Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy, then Director of the Royal Naval War College and subsequently Chief of the Admiralty War Staff. He was advisor on overseas expeditions planning attacks on Germany's colonial possessions at the start of the First World War and was selected as the surprise successor to Admiral Lord Fisher upon the latter's spectacular resignation in May 1915 following the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign. He had a cordial working relationship with First Lord of the Admiralty (and former Prime Minister) Arthur Balfour, but largely concerned himself with administrative matters and his prestige suffered when German destroyers appeared in the Channel, as a result of which he was replaced in December 1916.

Born the son of Henry Jackson (linen manufacturer and bleacher) and Jane Jackson (née Tee) of Barnsley was educated in Chester and then at Stubbington House School near Fareham in Hampshire, Henry Bradwardine Jackson joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship HMS Britannia in 1868. He was made a midshipman in the armoured frigate HMS Hector in the Reserve Fleet in April 1870 before transferring to the corvette HMS Cadmus in December 1871. Promoted to sub-lieutenant on 18 October 1874, he was posted to the corvette HMS Rover on the North America and West Indies Station in August 1876. Promoted to again to lieutenant on 27 October 1877, he joined the corvette HMS Active on the Cape of Good Hope Station in March 1878 and saw action ashore during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. He attended the torpedo school HMS Vernon in 1881 and, after qualifying as a torpedo officer, joined the directing staff there.