Difference between revisions of "Jellicoe:Sea Service and Second Sea Lord"
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:In December I received a telegram from Mr. Churchill, who had succeeded Mr. McKenna as First Lord of the Admiralty, offering me the command of the 2nd Division of the Home Fleet in succession to Prince Louis of Battenberg [Actually, Battenberg had commanded the Third and Fourth Divisions], who was going to the Admiralty as First Sea Lord [He was going as Second Sea Lord]. I was not at all anxious to leave the Atlantic Fleet, as I preferred service away from England to service in Home Waters, and I replied that I would sooner retain my Command of the Atlantic Fleet. I then received a somewhat peremptory telegram to the effect that my Command of the Atlantic Fleet would in any case be terminated and that no other appointment was open to me except the one offered. Under the circumstances I had no option but to accept.<ref name=Bacon171q>Bacon. ''Earl Jellicoe''. p. 171.</ref> | :In December I received a telegram from Mr. Churchill, who had succeeded Mr. McKenna as First Lord of the Admiralty, offering me the command of the 2nd Division of the Home Fleet in succession to Prince Louis of Battenberg [Actually, Battenberg had commanded the Third and Fourth Divisions], who was going to the Admiralty as First Sea Lord [He was going as Second Sea Lord]. I was not at all anxious to leave the Atlantic Fleet, as I preferred service away from England to service in Home Waters, and I replied that I would sooner retain my Command of the Atlantic Fleet. I then received a somewhat peremptory telegram to the effect that my Command of the Atlantic Fleet would in any case be terminated and that no other appointment was open to me except the one offered. Under the circumstances I had no option but to accept.<ref name=Bacon171q>Bacon. ''Earl Jellicoe''. p. 171.</ref> | ||
| − | On 4 December, 1911, Admiral Bridgeman wrote to Fisher | + | On 4 December, 1911, Admiral Bridgeman wrote to Fisher: |
:Directly I go, up he comes automatically to command of the 2nd Division, and a splendid opportunity for him! He has had no experience of fleet work on a big scale, and is so extremely anxious about the work in it, that he really does too much. He must learn to work his captains and staff more and himself less! At present he puts himself in the position, say, of a glorified gunnery lieutenant. This will not do when he gets a big fleet. He must trust his staff and captains and if they don't fit he must kick them out! I am sure you will agree with me on this view, and I wish, if you get the opportunity, you would drop him a hint. He would take it from you, but perhaps not from me.<ref>''Fear God and Dread Nought''. '''II'''. pp. 418-419.</ref> | :Directly I go, up he comes automatically to command of the 2nd Division, and a splendid opportunity for him! He has had no experience of fleet work on a big scale, and is so extremely anxious about the work in it, that he really does too much. He must learn to work his captains and staff more and himself less! At present he puts himself in the position, say, of a glorified gunnery lieutenant. This will not do when he gets a big fleet. He must trust his staff and captains and if they don't fit he must kick them out! I am sure you will agree with me on this view, and I wish, if you get the opportunity, you would drop him a hint. He would take it from you, but perhaps not from me.<ref>''Fear God and Dread Nought''. '''II'''. pp. 418-419.</ref> | ||
Revision as of 09:59, 5 February 2010
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Atlantic Fleet
- On December 20th, 1910, I assumed command of the Atlantic Fleet (in succession Prince Louis of Battenberg), with the rank of Acting Vice-Admiral. My flag was hoisted in H.M.S. Prince of Wales, with Captain Ronald Hopwood as my Flag-Captain, Commander F. C. Dreyer as Flag-Commander, Fleet Paymaster Hamnet Share as Secretary, and Lieutenant Bernard Buxton as Flag-Lieutenant. The fleet consisted of 6 battleships of the Prince of Wales and Formidable classes, and a Cruiser Squadron of 4 armoured ships, commanded by Rear-Admiral F. T. Hamilton, with his flag in H.M.S. Drake. There were also 2 light cruisers. Rear-Admiral Carden was 2nd in Command of the Battle Squadron.[1]
Christmas leave was then granted:[2]
- On leaving England the fleet proceeded to Vigo and carried out exercises with the Mediterranean and Home Fleets, commanded respectively by Sir Edmund Poë and Sir William May. They were of an interesting nature and included a night action between the two fleets in close contact with each other. The difficulty with distinguishing friend from foe, and the exceeding uncertainty of the result, confirmed the opinion I had long held that a night action between fleets was a pure lottery, more particularly if destroyers took part in it.
- During these exercises I received a wireless message from the Admiralty informing me of the death of my dear little daughter Betty, five years of age, from mastoids. The news came as a great shock, as she had been quite well when she, with her elder sister Lucy and my wife, came to see me off from Portsmouth.[1]
Betty had died on 25 January in a London nursing home and was buried at Stanmore on 27 January.[3]
Fisher wrote in October, 1911, "Sir John Jellicoe is the future Nelson—he is incomparably the ablest sea Admiral we have."[4]
Second Division, Home Fleet
The new First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, wrote to Asquith on 16 November on the new arrangements in the Admiralty and the fleet:
- The Home Fleet, wh [which] become vacant [through the elevation of Bridgeman to be First Sea Lord], has not, unhappily, any candidate of clear & pre-eminent qualifications. Admiral Jellicoe is not yet sufficiently practised in the handling of fleets or sufficiently in command of the confidence of the Sea Service, to justify what wd seemingly be a vy startling promotion. I shall therefore be taking the perfectly straightforward & unexceptionable course in placing Vice-Admiral Sir George Callaghan , the present 2nd in command, who has been in almost daily control of the largest manoevres in the Home Fleet, and who has previously been second in command in the Mediterranean, in the place of Sir F. Bridgeman. Admiral Sir John Jellicoe will be his 2nd in command, & we will thus be able to see what fitness he will develop for the succession.[5]
Jellicoe appointment to command the Second Division of the Home Fleet in succession to Vice-Admiral Callaghan was in itself, to use Churchill's words, a "vy startling promotion", as he was twenty-first out of the twenty-two Vice-Admirals on the Active List in order of seniority,[6] and yet he had been seriously considered for command of the entire Fleet. On the changes, Fisher wrote to Churchill on 22 November:
- When Callaghan's two years are up I presume you will put Jellicoe in his place and then no need of an Admiralissimo - for he is Head & Shoulders even above Bg! [Battenberg] Bridgeman will confirm this … but the object of my letter is that from this time forth you must make no appointment afloat for anyone senior to Jellicoe otherwise you will be in a fix in two years time when you wish him to be Admiralissimo![7]
Jellicoe himself described his appointment to the Home Fleet:
- In December I received a telegram from Mr. Churchill, who had succeeded Mr. McKenna as First Lord of the Admiralty, offering me the command of the 2nd Division of the Home Fleet in succession to Prince Louis of Battenberg [Actually, Battenberg had commanded the Third and Fourth Divisions], who was going to the Admiralty as First Sea Lord [He was going as Second Sea Lord]. I was not at all anxious to leave the Atlantic Fleet, as I preferred service away from England to service in Home Waters, and I replied that I would sooner retain my Command of the Atlantic Fleet. I then received a somewhat peremptory telegram to the effect that my Command of the Atlantic Fleet would in any case be terminated and that no other appointment was open to me except the one offered. Under the circumstances I had no option but to accept.[8]
On 4 December, 1911, Admiral Bridgeman wrote to Fisher:
- Directly I go, up he comes automatically to command of the 2nd Division, and a splendid opportunity for him! He has had no experience of fleet work on a big scale, and is so extremely anxious about the work in it, that he really does too much. He must learn to work his captains and staff more and himself less! At present he puts himself in the position, say, of a glorified gunnery lieutenant. This will not do when he gets a big fleet. He must trust his staff and captains and if they don't fit he must kick them out! I am sure you will agree with me on this view, and I wish, if you get the opportunity, you would drop him a hint. He would take it from you, but perhaps not from me.[9]
Jellicoe took command of the Second Division on 19 December[10] and transferred his flag from Prince of Wales to Hercules that morning.[11]
On 3 January 1912 Fisher wrote, "Jellicoe to be Admiralissimo on October 21, 1914,[Trafalgar Day] when the battle of Armageddon comes along."[12] On 18 September Jellicoe was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral.[13]
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Quoted in Bacon. Earl Jellicoe. p. 168.
- ↑ Winton. Jellicoe. p. 117.
- ↑ "Deaths" (Deaths). The Times. Thursday, 26 January, 1911. Issue 39492, col E, pg. 1.
- ↑ Fear God and Dread Nought. II. p. 397.
- ↑ Churchill. Winston S. Churchill. Volume II Companion Part II. p. 1337.
- ↑ Temple Patterson. Jellicoe. p. 47.
- ↑ Churchill. Winston S. Churchill. Volume II Companion Part II. p. 1341.
- ↑ Bacon. Earl Jellicoe. p. 171.
- ↑ Fear God and Dread Nought. II. pp. 418-419.
- ↑ The National Archives. ADM 196/38. p. 693.
- ↑ "Transfer of Commands" (News). The Times. Tuesday, 19 December, 1911. Issue 39772, col F, pg. 11.
- ↑ Fear God and Dread Nought. II. p. 424.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 28533. p. 6949. 22 September, 1911.
