‘The Admiralty War Staff and its influence on the conduct of the naval between 1914 and 1918.’ Nicholas Duncan Black University College University of London. Ph.D. Thesis. 2005. UMI Number: U592637 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U592637 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 CONTENTS Page Abstract 4 Acknowledgements 5 Abbreviations 6 Introduction 9 Chapter 1. 23 The Admiralty War Staff, 1912-1918. An analysis of the personnel. Chapter 2. 55 The establishment of the War Staff, and its work before the outbreak of war in August 1914. Chapter 3. 78 The Churchill-Battenberg Regime, August-October 1914. Chapter 4. 103 The Churchill-Fisher Regime, October 1914 - May 1915. Chapter 5. 130 The Balfour-Jackson Regime, May 1915 - November 1916. Figure 5.1: Range of battle outcomes based on differing uses of the 5BS and 3BCS 156 Chapter 6: 167 The Jellicoe Era, November 1916 - December 1917. Chapter 7. 206 The Geddes-Wemyss Regime, December 1917 - November 1918 Conclusion 226 Appendices 236 Appendix A. 236 Senior Admiralty and Staff Officials. First Lord of the Admiralty. First Sea Lord Deputy First Sea Lord The Admiralty War Staff, 1912-17 a) Chief of the Staff b) Assistant Chief of the Staff c) Special Service, War Staff. d) Director of the Operations Division e) Director of the Intelligence Division f) Director of the Mobilisation Division g) Director of the Trade Division h) Director of the Anti-Submarine Division The Naval Staff, 1917-18 237 a) Chief of Staff b) Deputy Chief of the Staff c) Assistant Chief of the Staff d) Director of the Operations Division e) Director of the Intelligence Division f) Director of the Mobilisation Division g) Director of the Trade Division h) Director of the Anti-Submarine Division i) Director of Minesweeping Division j) Director of the Plans Division k) Director of the Mercantile Movements Division 1) Director of the Training Division m) Director of the Gunnery & Torpedo Division n) Director of the Air Division Appendix B: 239 Graphs showing Membership of the Admiralty War Staff, 1914 -1918. Graph 1.1: All Members of the Admiralty War Staff, 1914- 1918. Graph 1.2: Admiralty War Staff employment of RNVR Officers, 1914-1918. Graph 1.3: Named Civilians on the Naval Staff, 1914 - 1918 Appendix C. 242 Table 1.1: Naval Staff, 1912-1918. Type of Employee to be found on the staff. Table 1.2: Retired Staff. Employment by Division Table 1.3 Retired Staff: date of arrival on the Staff Table 1.4: OD 16 and Plans Division Membership showing selected appointments. Table 1.5: Plans Division. Length of Service of various officers Table 1.6: Origins of ASD Officers, 1916-1918. Table 1.7: Fit and Unfit. The overall picture. 2 Table 1.8: Fit and Unfit. Figures by service branches, based on Service Records. Table 1.9: Structure of the Trade Division on 11th August 1914. Table 1.10: Changes to the Structure of the Trade Division, March 1915 Appendix D: 246 Administrative Development of the Admiralty War Staff, 1912 -1918. Appendix E: 247 The Structure of the Anti-Submarine Division, n.d. [January 1918]. Appendix F: 248 Organisation of the Naval Staff, January 1918. Appendix G: 249 Organisation of the Mercantile Movements and Trade Divisions, n.d. [1917] Appendix H: 250 The Structure of the Operations Division, n.d. [June 1917] Appendix I: Maps. 254 Map 1. The North Sea. Map 2. The British Isles. Map 3. The Aegean Coast of the Ottoman Empire. Map 4. The Baltic. Map 5. The English Channel and Straits of Dover. Bibliography 259 Abstract This thesis examines the structure and role of the Admiralty War Staff (Naval Staff from May 1917) between 1914-18. It analyses the means by which people were recruited to the Staff and challenges the accepted view that it was the depository of the ‘nondescript’ and the ‘maimed and hurt’. It will also challenge the traditional view as to both the nature of that structure and work of the Staff during the war, and look at the relationship that the War Staff had with other principal agents in the conduct of the war at sea: the First Lord of the Admiralty, the First Sea Lord and the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet. It will analyse how that relationship changed during the war, as a result of changing personalities as well as changing bureaucratic structures and strategic realities. In particular it will chart the development of the staff particularly while Jellicoe was First Sea Lord and show that, far from continuing a system of bureaucratic centralisation, this period brought about a decentralisation of Staff work that was not simply the result of the changes that took place in May 1917. It was also the result of a system that was maturing as growing manpower on the staff made decentralisation possible. The thesis will look at a number of key strategic issues and analyse the opinions that the Staff gave on these topics. It will look at: their opposition to Churchill’s 1914 advanced base theories; their role in the inception of the Dardanelles operation in 1915; their handling of the Grand Fleet, particularly the events surrounding the battle of Jutland; the development of the economic blockade of Germany; their opinions on the question of trade defence against submarines; and their quest for new offensive possibilities in 1918. 4 Acknowledgements. It would not have been possible to complete this thesis without an immense amount of support and encouragement, and I therefore felt that it was only right that many should get a public statement of thanks. I am also extremely grateful to Mr James McIntosh for developing my interest in the Royal Navy while at school, and for taking me to HMS Victory', it made a great impression. More recently, I have been very fortunate in the help that the Governors and Master of Dulwich College have given towards my research in terms of both funding and time. The staff of the IT department of Dulwich College were also of immense and vital help on a number of occasions and for that too I am grateful. Central to my work has been the gentle guidance of my supervisor, Professor David French. I have greatly valued his support throughout my postgraduate studies at UCL. I am also grateful to the help and advice I have received in the many archives and libraries that I have visited, particularly that of Jenny Wraight at the Naval Historical Branch and Admiralty Library. I am particularly indebted to Dr Nicholas Lambert for his advice and expert guidance, and to all those who have read parts of my work or shared their own knowledge and perspectives on the period: Lt-Cdr Dr Malcolm Llewellyn-Jones MBE, Major Jim Beach MBE, Dr John Abbatiello, Dr Warwick Brown, Dr John Brooks, Tony Hampshire, John Ross, Bronwyn Fysh, Peter Nash and Allan Ronald. Finally, I would like to thank Alex and Lotty for their patience and understanding during my long course of study. 5 Abbreviations: 1SG First Scouting Group ASD Anti-Submarine Division AWS Admiralty War Staff BCS Battle Cruiser Squadron BCF Battle Cruiser Fleet/Force BEF British Expeditionary Force BIR Board of Invention and Research BL British Library BS Battle Squadron CCC Churchill College, Cambridge C-in-C Commander-in-Chief CIGS Chief of the Imperial General Staff Commodore ‘S’ Officer Commanding Submarine Flotillas Commodore ‘T’ Officer Commanding Torpedo (Boat) Flotillas Commodore ‘D’ Officer Commanding Destroyer Flotillas COS Chief of the (War/Naval) Staff CS Cruiser Squadron D1SL Deputy First Sea Lord (A)DASD (Assistant) Director of the Anti-Submarine Division DID Director of the Intelligence Division DOD Director of the Operations Division DMD Director of the Mobilisation Division DNO Director of Naval Ordnance DTD Director of the Trade Division FCT French Coal Trade FO Foreign Office HMS Her/His Majesty’s Ship HSF High Sea Fleet ITP Inspector of Target Practice ID Intelligence Division IWM Imperial War Museum 6 JMH Journal o f Military History JRUSI Journal o f the Royal United Services Institute MMD Mercantile Movements Division NOT Netherlands Oversea Trust OD Operations Division OIC Order in Council OMC Organising Manager of Convoys NA National Archives TD Trade Division NLMD Naval Library, Ministry of Defence NMM National Maritime Museum NRS Navy Records Society RM Royal Marine RMA Royal Marine Artillery RMLI Royal Marine Light Infantry RN Royal Navy RNAS Royal Naval Air Service RNR Royal Naval Reserve RNYR Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Soton Hartley Library, University of Southampton Library. WO War Office VACEMS Vice-Admiral Commanding Eastern Mediterranean Squadron VACECE Vice-Admiral Commanding East Coast of England VACO&S Vice-Admiral Commanding Orkneys and Shetlands SNO Senior Naval Officer RA Rear-Admiral VA Vice-Admiral W/T Wirele ss/T elegraphy FGDN, vol Marder, A. J. (ed.), Fear God and Dread Nought, The Correspondence ofAdmiral o f the Fleet Lord Fisher o f Kilverstone, 3 volumes. London 1952-59 DNSF, vol Marder, A. J., From Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: The Royal Navy in the Fisher Era 1904-1919.