Memories, by Admiral of the Fleet, Lord FisherFisher, John Arbuthnot Fisher, Baron
History
Memories, by Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Fisher
Fisher, John Arbuthnot Fisher, Baron
Admirals -- Great Britain -- Biography; Fisher, John Arbuthnot Fisher, Baron, 1841-1920; Great Britain. Royal Navy
The evidence given by Captain (now Rear-Admiral Sir) William Reginald
Hall, R.N., Director of Naval Intelligence, at the Dardanelles Inquiry,
conflicts with the facts as afterwards made known to us; and no doubt
this led to such official speeches as were made of our being so near
victory at the Dardanelles--speeches which caused the further great
sacrifice of life which took place after General Sir Charles Munro, the
present Commander-in-Chief in India, had definitely and without any
equivocation officially reported that the Evacuation of the Gallipoli
Peninsula should immediately take place.
Field Marshal Lord Nicholson asked Captain Hall, R.N., how far the
Gallipoli Peninsula was under German control; and his answer was that
it was known that the defences had been inspected by a German and that
many Germans were arriving there, whereas it is a matter of fact stated
by General Liman von Sanders and confirmed from other sources that the
Germans were in complete control; and it took the British Admiral many
weeks after the Armistice, helped by the Turks, to clear a way through
the mines for his Flagship to take him to Constantinople. At question
4930 Captain Hall stated his spies made him convinced that he could
have pushed through with only the loss of one or more ships and got to
Constantinople on March 18th.
AN EPISODE OF THE WAR.
A friend asking me yesterday (this was written in 1917) about the
replacement of Tonnage destroyed by the German Submarines, and telling
me how quite ineffectual had been the course pursued up to the present
when really we are in measurable distance of starvation or else an
ignoble peace, I ventured to send him the enclosed account (_written
at the time_) of how 612 Vessels were hustled! As in all other War
matters, it is Personality that is required, even more than Brains!
STATEMENT OF NEW SHIPBUILDING INAUGURATED BY LORD FISHER.
_Note._--The following Memoranda are inserted as vital to the
explanation of Lord Fisher’s reluctance to resign on the Dardanelles
question. It will be seen that Mr. Churchill had given him sole charge
of the creation of this armada of new ships, _intended for great
projects in the Baltic and North Sea_.
_Tuesday, November 3rd, 1914._
(_Note._--Lord Fisher had joined the Admiralty as First Sea Lord four
days before this meeting.)
The First Sea Lord (Lord Fisher) presided at a Conference this day at
the Admiralty.
_Present:_
Second Sea Lord.
Third Sea Lord.
Additional Civil Lord.
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary.
Secretary.
Naval Secretary to First Lord.
Engineer-in-Chief.
Assistant Director of Torpedoes and another representative of the
Director of Naval Ordnance.
Commodore (S) and Assistant.
Naval Assistant to First Sea Lord.
Director of Naval Construction and an Assistant.
Superintendent of Contract Work.
Superintending Electrical Engineer.
Director of Dockyard Work.
Director of Naval Contracts and an Assistant.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account