Charles Lester Kerr

He spent a period in the coastguards before returning to active service at the beginning of World War I where he commanded a battery of land based naval guns in support of the Serbian army.

During his time in Serbia he was credited with sinking an Austrian warship by using a picket boat to launch a torpedoes attack, for which he received the DSO.

He left the navy in 1923 and purchased the luxury 300 ft yacht Istar with the intention of using it for a business venture, but the refurbishment costs proved to be prohibitive.

He formed a partnership with others, including Alfred Ehrenreich, with the intention of using the vessel as a factory ship to catch and process sharks in Australia.

He was cleared of this charge, and at the beginning of the Second World War he returned to the navy in a training role during which time he was seriously injured.

Kerr's mother died when he was ten years old; his father remarried in 1904 to divorcee, Rosa Williamina (Dymock) Williams (1861–1926).

Kerr attended private schools, first in Eastbourne, Sussex, and then Fareham, Surrey, in preparation for his entry examinations to the Royal Naval training establishment at Dartmouth.

Kerr passed his entry exams, coming sixteenth in order of merit out of about 200, and in September 1901 began his training in Dartmouth.

In 1906 Kerr was promoted from midshipman to sub-lieutenant and left the Drake to return to the UK for training at various establishments including the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.

After Britain's declaration of war with Germany in August 1914, Kerr wrote to the head of the submarine service hoping for a return to an active role in the Royal Navy.

He made enquiries at the Admiralty about other opportunities and was offered the job as Rear Admiral Troubridge's flag lieutenant during a military mission to Serbia.

[6][3] As a consequence of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914, the Austrian government declared war on Serbia on 28 July of the same year.

To restrict the movement of Austrian warships on the Danube and Sava the British deployed mines and installed static torpedo tubes on the banks of the rivers.

Rear Admiral Troubridge, commanding a small force with eight 4.7 inch guns on Scott Carriages and a 56 ft picket boat, deployed to the front line.

The combined effort of oxen, lorries and men could not shift it, so eventually it had to be wrecked and within a few hours a second gun suffered a similar fate.

A further two days march was required to get to the port of San Giovanni di Medua (Shëngjin), and from there by ship the troops were sent to Brindsi, Italy and Malta.

[8] The small harbour was under threat from air and sea attack and the invading armies had advanced to within a few miles when the British contingent left for Brindisi on 19 January 1916.

Kerr, Troubridge and their party made their escape on an Italian destroyer and transferred to the Royal Navy HMS Queen based in Taranto on the 21 January.

If an incoming shell landed on or near the bunker, the sandbags provided protection but the explosion reduced their number, so frantic efforts to replace these took place during the lull in the bombardments.

[10][11][3] Initially Kerr had received orders to report to Rear Admiral commanding the British Adriatic Squadron and take over the role of Port Convoy Officer (PCO) in Taranto, Italy.

Within two days of his arrival the orders had changed; he was instructed to report to Malta and told he would now be the PCO in Port Said, Egypt with rank of acting commander.

Kerr joined the company and borrowed about £20,000 from her to buy a 300 ft yacht to begin a luxury world cruise business.

Details about the first world cruise were published in the UK and America naming Prince and Princess Andrew of Russia, Lord and Lady Teynham and Admiral Mark Kerr as being associated with the venture.

[15] Thynne's real name was Robert Thompson Tinn, born in Gateshead, County Durham whose father worked as an "iron turner" in the railway industry.

In Canada he had been involved with property finance but also started a lumber business; his experience of working with heavy equipment made him a suitable candidate for the Royal Army Service Corps.

[20] Towards the end of WWI Thynne transferred to the Royal Air Force by "special appointment" at the request of the Ministry of Munitions, and he was seconded to the Directorate of Aircraft Production.

He had started a business in America that caught and processed sharks to obtain commercial quantities of oils, chemicals, fertilizers, food and leather.

He held patents on many of the processes and wanted to expand the operation to Europe and the southern hemisphere, using Kerr's yacht as a floating factory.

He took the company to court to recover what he believed he was rightfully owed, but lost the case; to make matters worse a counter claim went against him leaving him in a poor financial situation.

The jury also had to consider the evidence of a convicted fraudster against that of a decorated war hero, and they took only 45 minutes to find Kerr not guilty.