John Holmes Jellett
Dr. John Holmes Jellett ( -1971)
1971 Obituary [1]
Dr John Holmes Jellett, OBE, DSc, MA, (Fellow), a past-president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, died on June 17th. His long, distinguished career with the Admiralty began in 1933 when he joined the staff of Chatham Dockyard in the Civil Engineer's department on dockyard maintenance, a new drainage system and marsh reclamation. He became Assistant Civil Engineer at the Naval Base, Singapore, and also Deputy to the Divisional Officer in charge of construction of a new armament depot. In 1936 he became Civil Engineer at the Singapore base until he was appointed Civil Engineer to the Admiralty in Whitehall in 1938. A year later he was made officer-in-Charge of Admiralty Works near Milford Haven, and later Superintendent Civil Engineer in Bath administering wartime projects.
He held many posts during the war and his responsibilities included such projects as: the widening and deepening of the Great Pass, Alexandria Harbour for the Egyptian Government; restoration work on HM Dockyard in Malta after bombings; the construction of Mulberry Harbour in Arromanches, Normandy; and he also advised on the siting of the blockship and Phoenix breakwaters in preparation for the Allied Landing in Normandy. With the rank of Captain, RNVR, he was awarded the OBE in 1944.
After the war he was appointed Deputy Docks Engineer at Southampton, then Docks Engineer, a position he held until 1958, when he became Chief Docks Engineer. After retiring in 1965, he went in to consultancy work.