A three-quarter-length, full-face portrait showing Keyes in his Admiral of the Fleet full dress uniform, holding his hat under his right arm. His decorations include: the GCB, KCVO, the Grand Cross of the Belgian Order of Leopold, the Grand Cross of an officer of the French Legion of Honour, the CMG, the DSO and various campaign medals. He stands before a map that covers north-east France, Belgium and southern tip of England; the lines on it relate to the Zeebrugge and Ostend raids of 1918. It is inscribed above the sitter: 'Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes Bart. G.C.B., C.M.G., K.C.V.O., D.S.O., M.P.'.
Roger John Brownlow Keyes entered the Navy as a ‘Britannia’ cadet in 1885, passing out in July 1887 to join HMS ‘Raleigh’ on the Cape and West Africa station. He moved the corvette ‘Turquoise’ in 1890 for the opportunity to work in small boats against Arab slavers on the East African coast; he was involved in the punitive expedition against the Sultan of Witu in the October of that year. He was promoted sub-lieutenant in 1892, and lieutenant while serving in the sloop ‘Beagle’ off the South American coast, 1893–96. He was in command of the destroyer ‘Opossum’, then the ‘Hart’ on the China station and, still in China, of the destroyer ‘Fame’ in January 1899. Keyes saw action in the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 and was promoted commander that November.
Keyes was second in command of the Devonport destroyer flotilla, 1901–03, and then served in the naval intelligence department. He was promoted captain on 1 July 1905. He commanded the cruiser ‘Venus’ in the Atlantic Fleet, 1908–10, before being appointed inspecting captain of submarines in November 1910 and commodore (S) in charge of the Submarine Service in August 1912. His time in charge was not entirely successful and Keyes was moved to the planning for Gallipoli. Never keen to take a back seat, he returned to command at sea in the battleship ‘Centurion’ in the second battle squadron of the Grand Fleet in June 1916. He was promoted rear-admiral in April 1917 and hoisted his flag in the ‘Colossus’ that June. He was appointed director of plans at the Admiralty in September 1917. Keyes was instrumental in organizing the Zeebrugge raid of 23 April 1918 and was made KCB immediately afterwards.
Keyes commander the battle-cruiser squadron, 1919–21 and was deputy chief of the naval staff, 1921–25. He was then commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean station, 1925–28 before being commander-in-chief at Portsmouth, 1929–31. He was promoted admiral of the fleet in May 1930. Upon retirement he was the Conservative MP for Portsmouth North from February 1934 until he entered the House of Lords in 1943. He was highly critical of Chamberlain’s handling of the war, particularly operations in Norway, and he delivered a scathing attack in the Commons dressed in his admiral’s uniform. He was appointed director of combined operations in July 1940, keenly backing the commandos. He was replaced by Lord Mountbatten in September 1941.