form whatsoever or communicate, either directly or indirectly, to the Press any military information or his views on any military subject without special authority." Many of the men serving in North Russia approved of Sherwood-Kelly's actions. Petty Officer Reginald Jowett, serving abroad the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Pegasus, wrote in his diary: "Lt. Colonel Sherwood Kelly's scathing indictment of the Government's policy, published in the papers about Sept 8th, which have just reached us, is causing a good deal of comment around here, as we all know how true it is. The 'High Official' of the War Office, who terms his statements as "biased and unfounded" is that peculiar animal known as the "armchair critic", who has probably never been within a thousand miles of Archangel. To those of us who have been here, his statements against Kelly simply makes him look foolish, but I expect he is just trying to shield the Gov't as usual...All the men who have been up-river are unanimous in declaring that the conditions spoken of by Lt. Colonel Kelly in his articles in the newspapers are absolutely so, so I wonder how the High Official of the War Office would answer all these witnesses". Kelly presented a plea in mitigation and various documents to support his case. He concluded, "I plead with you to believe that the action I took was to protect my men's lives against needless sacrifice and to save the country from squandering wealth it could ill afford." He was found guilty and severely reprimanded. Two weeks later he relinquished his commission, being allowed to retain the rank of lieutenant colonel. Pursued by a neglected wife and various creditors, he was unsuccessful in his many attempts to re-enter the army and even failed to obtain a place in the French Foreign Legion. Politics During the political instability of 1923–24, Jack Kelly stood for the Conservative Party at two general elections for the constituency of Clay Cross in Derbyshire. His controversial and outspoken style struck a chord even among hardened socialist supporters in this largely mining seat. He was defeated in the December 1923 elections by 6,000 votes but had reduced this by half a year later in the election of October 1924. During the election rallies, Kelly again hit the national headlines having thrashed some hecklers at Langwith. Later work In later years, Kelly worked for Bolivia Concessions Limited building