Charles Lester Kerr

Commander Charles Lester Kerr, DSO (16 November 1886 – 29 October 1965) was a British naval officer and submarine commander.

He became a Naval Cadet at the age of fifteen and qualified for a career with the Royal Navy. He was later a submarine commander, but was transferred to shore duties because of nearsightedness. 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. After his return to the UK he was posted to Belgium in command of a land based battery of heavy naval guns. He was later transferred to Egypt, where he co-ordinated convoy movements in the Mediterranean Sea before returning to coastguard duties after the war.

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. In 1930 he was arrested and charged with blackmailing a prospective parliamentary candidate. He was cleared of this charge, and at the beginning of WW2 he returned to the navy in a training role during which time he was seriously injured. Provided by Wikipedia