Ruthless, Relentless, Remorseless!

[RNCVR]

Admiral of the Fleet John 'Jackie' Arbuthnot Fisher, GCB, OM, GCVO, RN. passed away 100 years ago today 10 July 1920, age 79 1\2 yrs of age.

After Nelson he is perhaps the most important naval officer in British naval history.

He certainly (at the time & for sometimes afterwards) was one of the most controversial figures in RN history.

 

This brief note is in his memory......

 

Jackie Fisher was borne of parents William & Sophie 25 Jan 1841, in Rambodde (or Ramboda), Ceylon, the eldest of 11 children.

He was only 5 foot 4 inches in height (& did not grow very much subsequently), & considered himself ugly -

"my father was 6 feet 2 inches..., also especially handsome. Why I am ugly is one of those puzzles of physiology which are beyond finding out'.

 

He entered the RN (penniless & forlorn, as Jackie used to later say) 13 July 1854,aged 13 1\2 on board HMS Victory (where he was t finish his career near 60 years later).  He witnessed the flogging (whipping) of 8 sailors on his first day in & fainted at the sight.

In his time there was no RNC (Royal Naval College) at Dartmouth or Osborne, potential officers upon passing a ridiculously simple (they had to be literate, know the Rule of Three, recite the lord's Prayer & be able to jump over a candle!)exam, they went directly to sea & learned seamanship, sails & rigging first & foremost.  Discipline in those past days was extremely strict & Jackie's first Captain was a very excellent example of a Captain brought up in sail. 

 

However, he survived......

 

Jackie Fisher as a young Cadet, this was the uniform he would have worn whilst serving in the Baltic campaign of 1854-55. He was on HMS Calcutta for this campaign & earned his first medal for the campaign.

 

 

 

Jackie as a Mate(later Sub Lieut)in the China 1860 campaign. He was then on HMS Furious, & briefly commanded HMS Coromandel(at this rank!) during

this campaign, earning the 2nd China War medal.

Edited 10 July , 2020 by RNCVR
.

[RNCVR]

Promotion was steady, & for the time, reasonably quick as his ability & talent was recognized early in his career by his superiors.  He attended the Gunnery school at HMS Excellent (Whale island school did not exist in those days, he took his qualifying course on board the old hulk moored in Portsmouth) qualifying as a Gunnery Lieut in 1863, then being appointed to HMS Warrior ( RN's newest Ironclad) as Lieut(G).

He became interested in the newly invented Torpedo & was eventually to specialize in those, & push for their adoption in the RN as well.

I have never seen any photo of Jackie as either a Lieut or Commander. He was promoted to Commander on 2 Aug 1869 at the young age of 28, then to Captain on 30 Oct 1874.

In Jan 1881 he was appointed to command HMS Inflexible, the latest & most modern of the Ironclad Battleships of the day. In her he saw action at the Bombardment of the forts at Alexandria Egypt, July 11, 1882, earning him the Egypt campaign medal. 

He served ashore after the bombardment & designed an armoured train which he used for reconnaissance. He subsequently contracted dysentery and malaria & was invalided back to Uk to recover, however he never fully recovered from this near fatal disease.

 

Jackie as a Captain after the Egypt campaign.  We wears the insignia of Companion of the Bath(in this time worn as a chest decoration), Turkish Order of Osmanieh (2nd cl), & medals for Baltic, China & Egypt campaigns.

Edited 10 July , 2020 by RNCVR

[RNCVR]

Promoted Rear Admiral 2 Aug 1890, he began his system of reforms that were to hugely affect the RN in times to come. 

This was a gradual & exacting process that Jackie conceived & managed to put into place over a long period of time.  

Many of his reforms are well described on the internet so will not go into them here, primary of his reforms concerned building of ships, gunnery & personnel. 

Fisher would not tolerate any nonsense or stupidity & had little use for tradition.

of his many sayings -

 "When you are told a thing is impossible, that there are insuperable objections, then is the time to fight like the devil." 

Fight he did & of course in the process he made many enemies, tradition bound Admirals in particular.

 

Around this time he pronounced perhaps the most famous of his sayings - 'Ruthless, Relentless, & Rermorseless'

& of course this described him to a T.

His eyes were his most compelling feature & together with his extreme facial expressions he was a formidable figure to get into an argument with.

 

Gunnery reform in the fleet was his major objective - "Hit first, hit hard, & keep on hitting!"

Jackie was promoted go Vice Admiral 8 May 1896 & in 1898 advanced to Admiral Commanding the Mediterranean Fleet, the primary &most sought after command for a RN Admiral. 

On 2 Nov 1901 he was promoted to Admiral & took up the post of 2nd Sea Lord on 9 June.  Now his reforms commenced with zeal & speed.

 

Rear Admiral Jackie Fisher, KCB (Knight of the Bath)  -  note his eyes & facial expression......

he has added the Queen Victoria 1897 Jubilee medal to his medals. In that time Coronation medals were placed ahead of campaign medals. 

 

"Never deny, never explain, never apologize"

 

 

Edited 10 July , 2020 by RNCVR

[RNCVR]

Jackie's next major appointment was that of 1st Sea Lord, 20 Oct 1904.  He was now at the top of the ladder & virtually the 'Commander in Chief' of the Royal Navy - his most major & important reforms took place in the next 6 years.

 

Prime of these reforms was the designing & building of HMS Dreadnought - the first  all big gun Battleship, making all other Battleships obsolete.

he had to fit 'tooth & nail' to accomplish this but he did it despite all opposition.

His biggest &most influential supporter was King Edward VII, of which Jackie was a personal friend & confidant. Jackie could not have managed to get his reforms thru without the support of King Edward.

  

Jackie was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 5 Dec 1905, the top rank in the RN.

A young boy of 14, with no influence, who had nothing going for him had reached the pinnacle of his career!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the best books I have read on the life of Jackie Fisher.

Edited 10 July , 2020 by RNCVR

[RNCVR]

Jackie adopted as his motto  --  "Fear God & Dread Nought"  as a reference to HMS Dreadnought.

On 7 Dec 1909 he was created Baron Fisher of Kilverstone & his motto was inscribed on his Coat of Arms.

 

 After much controversy Jackie retired on 25 Jan 1910 aged 69 yrs & retired to Kilverstone Hall.

 King Edward VII died on 6 May 1910, & Jackie was devastated by his death.

 

With King Edward on board HMS Dreadnought

 

 

Possibly taken onboard HMS Dreadnought...

 

 

HMS Dreadnought .... circa 1907.

Edited 10 July , 2020 by RNCVR

[RNCVR]

Jackie did not remain in retirement for long, upon the outbreak of 1WW he was recalled to the Admiralty (to replace Admiral Lord Battenberg) in October 1914.  Winston Churchill was 1st Civil Lord & Jackie's political master.

The two mixed fairly well for the first few months, the highlight of Jackie's career being the Battle of Falkland islands Dec 8,1914, but the 1915 Dardanelles affair was both of their undoings. It was both a political & military\naval disaster leading to Jackie leaving office on 15 May 1915 under a controversial & very messy cloud. 

He subsequently retired to Scotland & Kilverstone for the remainder of his life.

 

He wrote his Memories & Records in 1918 & 1919.  A rambling & somewhat difficult to follow story of his naval life.

 

 

A very good account of Dardanelles & both Winston & Jackie's involvement in that campaign

 

Part I - "Memories"....

 

 

Part II - "Records"....

 

"Think in Oceans, Shoot at sight!"

Edited 10 July , 2020 by RNCVR

[RNCVR]

Two more books about Jackie I have enjoyed reading....

 

 

Edited 10 July , 2020 by RNCVR

[RNCVR]

Dont often see this side of Fisher's face......

[RNCVR]

Jackie's resting place at St Andrew's churchyard adjacent to  Kilverstone Hall, Norfolk.

 

I hope someday that I will be able to visit the resting place of this great man.....

 

Very best wishes to all!

Bryan

 

 

 In Proud Memory of John Arbuthnot 1st Baron Fisher of Kilverstone GCB, OM, GCVO, Admiral of the Fleet.

Organizer of the Navy that won the Great War, departed this life July 20th 1920 in the 80th year of his life.

 

I leave the reader with one of Jackie's most memorable sayings that really summed up his life -----

 

"To HELL with today, whats doing TOMORROW!"

 

 

Edited 10 July , 2020 by RNCVR

[MikeyH]

A piece in today's 'Times' reveals that Fisher's great-great-grandaughter Penelope is currently promoting a script entitled 'Sea Lord'.

This chronicles the Gallipoli campaign and his falling out with Winston Churchill.  A letter from Fisher to Churchill dated

9th September 1917 is reproduced, this in his usual breathless and punchy style, liberally sprinkled with exclamation

marks.  Interestingly it also features what is said to be the first use of "O.M.G.", helpfully for Churchill, he follows this with a

bracketted (Oh! My God!) in the same sentence.

 

Mike.

Edited 28 November , 2020 by MikeyH

[RaySearching]

 

Bryan

I missed this first time round

 

Interesting reading

 

Thanks for posting

 

Regards Ray

[RNCVR]

Thanks for responding mates, appreciate your interest, I had not thought anyone had even read it. I posted this memoriam as I felt a great man should be remembered on the GWF.

 

Mikey, I was unaware Fisher's great great grand daughter was producing a script, but that is not surprising as I live in Canada & it would not likely be newsworthy over here.

I wonder if you might keep me posted on developments (if there are any) in this regard.

 

Best wishes,

Bryan

 

[MikeyH]

20 hours ago, RNCVR said:

Thanks for responding mates, appreciate your interest, I had not thought anyone had even read it. I posted this memoriam as I felt a great man should be remembered on the GWF.

 

Mikey, I was unaware Fisher's great great grand daughter was producing a script, but that is not surprising as I live in Canada & it would not likely be newsworthy over here.

I wonder if you might keep me posted on developments (if there are any) in this regard.

 

Best wishes,

Bryan

 

 

Bryan,

 

The screenplay has been written by established writer Tom Williams, the period covered is October 1914 to May 1915.

As ever, funding is required to move the project on.

If you Google:- penelope fisher sea lord, this will provide some background information.

 

Regards,

Mike.

Edited 29 November , 2020 by MikeyH