The papers were presented in 1953 by Captain Charles Ford Hamill after Admiral Kelly had, to a large extent, arranged them. They consist of a draft of his memoirs which is very detailed until 1933; after this period it has only a few notes and observations on Turkey. The diaries for 1899, 1901, 1903, 1905 to 1907, 1910, 1914 to 1916, T919 to 1921, 1923 to 1929 and 1931 to 1933 are also detailed. The correspondence forms two groups; the first, 1914 to 1917, includes letters from Earl Beatty (1871-1936), Admiral Tyrwhitt (1870-195T) and Lord Jellicoe (1859-1935); the second group, 194G to 1944, includes those from Admirals Cunningham (q.v.), Harwood (1888-1950) and Willis (1889-1976). Some notebooks, news cuttings and articles complete the collection.

Administrative / biographical background
Howard Kelly, brother of Sir John Kelly (q.v.), served in the Temeraire and Cruiser in the Mediterranean between 1889 and 1892 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1894. From 1902 to 1904 he served in Somaliland, returning from the East Indies Station in 1906. He was in naval intelligence from 1907, promoted to captain in 1911 and was then naval attachee; in Paris for three years. In 1914 he was given command of the Gloucester and won distinction by his determined chase of the Goeben. He was Commodore of the Light Cruiser Squadron, 1917, and, in 1918, of the British Adriatic Force. Between 1919 and 1921 he was head of the Naval Mission to Greece and was promoted to rear-admiral in 1922. In the next year he commanded the First Battle Squadron and in 1925 the Second Cruiser Squadron. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1927 and for the next two years he commanded the First Battle Squadron. After this he was second-in-command, Mediterranean Fleet, until 1930. In 1931 he became an admiral and went out to China until 1933, as Commander-in-Chief of the station. Kelly retired in 1936. He visited Australia in 1938 and then went to lecture in Canada in 1940. From that year until 1944 he was naval representative in Turkey.