LORD FISHER.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 August 1920, Page 155

LORD FISHER.

naval revolutionary. "JACKY'S" REMARKABLE CAREER. No sailor of tlie British Navy since t'he days of Nelson had so remarkable a career as the redoubtable "Jacky" Fisher. He had behind him a distinguished career when he went to the Board of Admiralty as the country's chief expert. He had fought in the Crimea, in the China War, in Egypt in ISB2, whep. he commanded the famous armored train, and had held many important commands. But Lord Fisher will be remembered in, after veara as the reformer . who rutls* lessly and fearlessly seized the naval machine, cramped by a peace tradition of nearly one hundred years, .and remodelled it to suit new needsf He Went to Whitehall in 1902 as Second- Sea Lord with a vast number of schemes ready to be submitted to the new Board, and put into , execution schemes which he had prepared in detail while acting as Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, then the principal British force. He first attacked the problem of naval education, and revolutionised the training of officers and men, which was still governed by the 'lore of the small sail era. Sir John Fisher—as lie then was—entered the Admiralty in June, 1902, and by September, 1903, the change in naval training, involving an immense number of issues, had been made, and the process of producing the new type of officer, with a foundation knowledge of engineering—and also the new and corresponding type of bluejacket—was in full swing. In pursuance of his plans, Sir John then vacated his seat at the Board/and assumed the duties of Com-mander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, in order that he might personally supervise the actual business of training.

As soon as the foundations had been laid Sir John relinquished his appointment at Portsmouth, and the most crowded period in his life opened on his 'succeeding Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Kerr as First Sea Lord. He had already somewhat shocked conservative influences in the navy! Now, as the principal expert member of the Board, he proceeded to put into simultaneous execution a vast number of co-related and revolutionary reforms. Squadrons—the Pacific, the North American, and the Atlantic —were either disestablished or diminished; the tension in the Far East being at an end the battleships in. China waters were withdrawn; friendly relations having been cemented with France, the Mediterranean Fleet was reduced; small ships of little or no fighting value were called home; some minor dockyards abroad, a cause of great expense, were reduced to cadres; many old ships were sold, and others placed on a subsidiary list, so as to be available for use as auxiliaries; the system of stores in the Fleet were revised; the dockyard administration was the subject of searching inquiry, and new equipment was ordered to facilitate quick and cheap shipbuilding; the duties of the coastguard were inquired into, and the force converted into a war force closely associated with the seagoing fleets, with the officers and men withdrawn from the non-fighting ships, the war worthy vessels, hitherto in reserve at the naval ports without officers or men, were provided with nucleus crews, including all the specialist officers, non-commissioned officers and men; torpedo craft, which had formerly been commissioned only once a year for manoeuvres, were provided with crews; and, lastly, a new Order-in-Council was prepared and duly passed placing on the shoulders of the First Sea Lord the responsibility for the war-readiness of the Fleet, so that the nation might know in whom it was placing its trust. These are some —but only a portion — of the reforms which were almost simultaneously launched on the nation and the Navy. But Sir John did not evert rest content with this vast programme. •He set up and himself presided over a Committee of Naval Design. The committee sought to evolve the type of ship which the naval officer wanted rather than the type of ship which the naval constructor thought he ought to have. Britain was then building battleships of 10,350 tons displacement; Japan had already ordered a vessel of 19,350 tons, and Russia had in hand two vessels of 17,200 tons. An increase in the size, and, apparently, the cost of British battleships was inevitable, and the only question was one of the design.

Peaqg experience had shown that battles would in future be won by the big gun, and the war in the Far East had confirmed this. Consequently, it was determined to lay down a ship of 17,900 tons —smaller than the Japanese ship carrying nothing but big (that is 12inch) guns, except for small weapons for repelling torpedo attacks. The familiar 6-inch gun was eliminated. Thus the Dreadnought came to be built, With turbine engines, ten 12-inch guns, special armour protection, and a speed of nearly 22 knots, four knots more than foreign ships. She was completed at Portsmouth in a year and a day, in order that the new design might be thoroughly ■tested before it was reproduced. This development took the world by surprise. Britain obtained a lead in thi3 inevitable development—inevitable owing to the, progress of the science of gunnery of about 18 months, and gained invaluab!« experience. When the war broke out lie returned to the Admiralty as First Sea Lord, but resigned in May, 1915, and in July ho became chairman of the Inventions Board. His wife died in July, 1918. ■The publication of his reminiscences last year aroused extraordinary interest.