[ Main ] [ Features ] [ Sailors ]

Sir John 'Jackie' Fisher

Admiral Of The Fleet, 1st Baron Of Kilverstone

Born Jan. 25th, 1841, at Rambodde, in Ceylon, he entered the navy on June 12th, 1854, on board the Victory at Portsmouth, 'penniless, friendless, and forlorn', as he wrote himself. He saw active service in the Calcutta with the Baltic fleet during the Crimean War and later in China, when he was present at the attack on the Peiho forts.

Promoted captain in 1874, he commanded the Inflexible at the bombardment of Alexandria, 1882. he landed there with the Naval Brigade, and was the adaptor of the armoured train, which he commanded in several engagements, receiving the C.B. for his services. In Feb. 1892, he was appointed to the board of admiralty as controller of the navy, a post which he held until Aug. 1897, when he took command of the squadron on the N. America station. Fisher returned to Europe in 1899 to represent British naval interests at the Hague peace conference. From July 1899, until May 1902, he was commander-in-chief, Mediterranean, and on his return was appointed second sea lord of the admiralty.

He was largely responsible for the scheme of entry and training for naval officers which abolished the Britannia, substituting the colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth, and trained executive officers, engineers, and marines together up to the rank of lieutenant, after which they specialised into the various branches. From Aug. 1903, to Oct. 1904, he was commander-in-chief at Portsmouth, and served as a member of Lord Eshers committee on national defence. He was appointed first sea lord on Oct. 21st, 1904, and resigned this office in 1910.

Remarkable changes in naval organization and material were carried out in this period, due mainly to the rapid rise in strength of the German navy and to the development of naval ordinance and the science of gunnery. The British fleets on foreign stations, particularly in the Mediterranean and the Far East, were drastically reduced, and in 1907 a Home Fleet was formed which, two years later absorbed all the commissioned naval forces in home waters.

Lord Fisher, who was knighted in 1894 and created a baron in 1909, was the creator of the Dreadnought and the battlecruiser type, and the introducer of oil fuel and submarines into the British navy. His work in improving the shooting of the navy was of the utmost importance. He was specially promoted to admiral of the fleet, and was appointed in 1912 chairman of a royal commission on oil fuel in relation to the navy. He was recalled to be first sea lord on the resignation of the marquess of Milford Haven, Oct. 29th 1914.

He took steps to lay down 612 new ships of various types, many of which were designed for special work in the Baltic. He also ordered a large number of aircraft, including the small airships often known as 'blimps', which proved of great value for reconnaissance in the early stages of the war at sea. He advocated the introduction of much heavier guns, and had a battlecruiser planned which would have mounted six or eight 20" weapons.

In one very important matter Fishers naval leaderships was defective - he attached insufficient importance to tactical training and to the spiritual side of his profession. He provided admirable weapons, but not the staff to use them to the best effect, and he never properly understood the necessity of a staff in modern war.

He strongly opposed the Dardanelles expedition, and was with difficulty prevented from resigning when it was ordered, early in 1915, by the Cabinet. He finally resigned on May 15th 1915, on the grounds that ships required by the Grand Fleet in the North Sea were being imperilled at the Dardanelles. Though publicly censured by the Dardanelles committee for his conduct, he refused to defend himself.

In the general conduct of the war he was successful; the decisive result of the battle of the Falkland Islands, Dec. 8th 1914, was entirely due to his action in sending two battlecruisers secretly from the North Sea, despite the opposition of the Cabinet and the British commanders in home waters. In July 1915 he was appointed president of the board of invention and research. He died July 10th 1920, retaining to the last his vigour of mind and speech. His letters to The Times in 1919 - 1920 were memorable for the refrain 'sack the lot', and he always spoke of himself as 'ruthless and relentless'. Yet he had a warm heart and never bore malice to a fair critic. Beyond question, he was one of the great figures of his age, and did much to achieve the British victory.

Taken from Harmsworths Universal Encyclopedia, 1923