He was educated at the Westminster Hospital where he won the Sturges Prize in Medicine and the Abrahams Prize in Pathology. After qualification he held appointments as house surgeon at the Westminster and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, and was awarded honours in his London examination. He served as a demonstrator of anatomy at the Royal Free Hospital, and carried out postgraduate surgical study at the London Hospital. During the war of 1914-18 he served throughout as a surgeon in the British Red Cross in France. For many years he was medical superintendent of Whipps Cross Hospital. His wife predeceased him and he was survived by their only son. Kelly died on 7 September 1962.