FIERY ADMIRALS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 718, 17 April 1953, Page 12

FIERY ADMIRALS

PORTRAIT OF AN ADMIRAL, the Life and Papers of Sir Herbert Richmond, by Arthur J. Marder; Jonathan Cape. English price, 30/-. FEAR GOD AND DREAD NOUGHT, the Corr d of iral of the Fleet Lord of Vol. 1 (The Making of an Admiral, 1854-1904); selected and edited by Arthur J. Marder; Jonathan Cape. Enf§lish price, 30/-.

(Reviewed by

S. D.

W.

familiar with his numerous published works will find it hard to recognise the "portrait" of Admiral Richmond presented by the major part of Professor Marder’s book, The life of Richmond is covered in a "biographical essay" of some 30 pages-a sort of extended obituary notice.-The admiral’s private diaries cover the period 1909-1920, and there are a few letters, Professor Marder (an American) describes them as a "veritable El Dorado" of primary source material of "immense historical importance." That is, perhaps, an overstatement, but one can agree with him that Admiral Richmond had "never considered publishing his diaries; in fact, nothing was further from his mind." The professor tells us that "except for a scattering of epithets that might have of naval history

given needless offence to a few persons, there have been no ‘judicious omissions.’." Those epithets must have been offensive indeed if they were worse than many that remain. From first to last no Board of Admiralty measures up to Richmond’s approval. They are the "fat-heads at Whitehall" and "ignorant pretenders." Admiral Sturdee, Chief of the Naval Staff in 1914, is a "stupid doctrinaire," the Secretary of the Admiralty is "pipsqueak Murray," and, says Richmond, "T really believe Churchill is insane." In 1919 he confesses: "I hate the Admiralty more and more." He has never a good word for Admiral Jellicoe, who is "as ignorant as a pig; a weak-minded man with all the obstinacy of small natures." In December, 1917, he gloats: "Jellicoe has fallen. One obstacle to a successful war is now out of the way." And so on. Even his hero Beatty does not escape the lash of his criticism. Spleen and intolerance mar many of Richmond’s judgments, which too often are based on hearsay evidence and spiteful service gossip. This is a, cruel book. On June 12, 1854, a 12-year-old boy named John Arbuthnot Fisher joined H.M.S. Victory at Portsmouth. Half a century later-on Trafalgar Day, 1904 -the flag of Admiral Sir John Fisher as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was struck in the Victory on his going to the Admiralty as First Sea Lord. Professor Marder’s book tells the vivid story of that 50 years of this extraordinary man’s career, mainly by means of his letters. His output of correspondence was prodigious and the editor has made a "ruthless, relentless and remorseless" selection from collections numbering well over 1000 letters, claiming ‘"complete objectivity" as his criterion. However that may be, Professor Marder has given us a valuable and intensely interesting character-study of a remarkable man who has been described as "95 per cent genius with 5 per cent devil," yet who was withal a deeply religious man whose courage was as theatrical as it was fearless, and whose ideas were as ruthless as they were clear-sighted and so often right. The second volume will be awaited with pleasurable interest, .