The Royal Navy had a 300 year tradition of aggressive combat in total disregard of the odds. Captain Kennedy’s acts were foolhardy by any standards, except those prevailing in the tradition of his service. What he did by taking on two battle cruisers was hailed as an outstanding example of what a Royal Navy captain should be about.
By contrast, Captain Langsdorff of the German pocket battleship Graf Spee is to this day considered less than -- well, how should we say it? -- "manly" for refusing to at least attempt fighting his way out of Montevideo harbor.