CHAPTER 4 Part 3 – England Expects that Every Man....
THREE
Admiral Jellicoe looked out at the room. Amazingly enough, every Admiral in the Grand Fleet was in attendance, along with virtually all of the senior Captains. “Gentlemen! It is rare that we can all gather like this, but following the recent action we have a breather for maintenance, to conduct some training, and generally consider what we have learned. Right now, the enemy battle cruiser force, their heavy scouting arm, is unavailable for operations. So the High Seas Fleet is unlikely to sortie, and is busy digesting the lessons which they learned.
“While we have also suffered some damage, Admiral Beatty, now Acting Vice Admiral Beatty, is reforming the BCF – as the Battle Cruiser Fleet – with the undamaged vessels, and they will be here at Scapa for gunnery training before leaving for Rosyth. Indomitable is here now, HMAS Australia has reached the UK and will reach Scapa shortly along with Queen Mary, rushed through her refit to take his flag. Invincible is undergoing more complete repairs to miscellaneous damage from the Falklands battle, and will join in a few days, while Inflexible will remain in the Med after relieving Indefatigable, which will refit and then join Admiral Beatty. So in a few more weeks he will have five ships in the BCF.
“The purpose of this meeting is for Rear Admiral Evan Thomas to introduce his plan for fleet communication and signaling, and explain the parts we will all take in its implementation. I will tell you at the outset that Admiral Fisher and I have seen his plan and support getting it under way forthwith. That will be clear from supporting measures which you will see have been put into motion. I hand you over to Admiral Evan Thomas.”
“Gentlemen. I will try to make this brief and to the point. That will leave some time for questions and allow us us to pull this meeting to a prompt close.
“First, as you are probably aware, as IGSC I have been assigned to look at how signaling has worked for us in the myriad actions so far in the war, and set a program for improvement moving forward rapidly. With that in mind, we have not been studying the specific instances, but rather identifying the critical pathway forward to make the overall system more effective in our use of signals.
“To that end, we have a series of related steps which will develop the capacity of the fleet to apply lessons which we will develop from analysis of events. Sir? A question?”
“Rear Admiral Evan Thomas. Do you meant to say that you want to prepare to respond to lessons which you believe you will find when you look at the details of operations? Given how we drill the battle squadrons, that seems a bit, well...presumptuous.”
“Thank you Vice Admiral. Yes, I can see that it might look that way, but we already have a few specific instances where poor signaling caused problems, and can see where there are other matters of concern. These cover several previous operations against the enemy. The situation is that we can study those in detail in a shorter period of time, much shorter, than it will take for the basic steps to respond to them. Therefore we will put the wide-ranging plan into place, giving it the quickest start that we can, to get trained personnel in place. Even with that, we do not believe the Fleet will be caught up to the new standard of fully trained personnel by the time we go through the experience gained. With better trained personnel at all levels, we will be much better placed to exercise command.
“As for current training of the Fleet, that is important, but as you have read in Vice Admiral Beatty's and Rear Admiral Moore's reports, we are seeing that in action with the enemy we need to do better in some ways. While current signals training is good, it barely begins to cover the number of communications personnel necessary. We are also seeing that there are different considerations with large fleets at long ranges and high speeds - so there will be new matters to train for. Sir, I trust that covers your query adequately, and more will be clear as we move on.
“The core effort will be to have a completely manned signals department in every ship, squadron, and fleet. Here are the steps, starting at the base level and working our way up:
1. Train all signalmen. Yes, most are today, but we need to be sure they are trained and capable.
2. Train the Communications Officer of each ship. There are new responsibilities and requirements.
3. Train all Flag Lieutenants. More on this later.
4. Have upgrade and refresher courses available for all of the above, here at Scapa and as soon as we can at Rosyth.
“We have a lot of trained personnel already, but these numbers will mean expanding the Signal School to get these through with the minimum deleterious effect upon Fleet efficiency. And so we are going to open a branch of it right here in Scapa. An old armoured cruiser has been fitted out at Vernon to be the base of this new school. The ship is carrying instructors and equipment and will sail for here today. Additional facilities will be found here as best we can.
“So for all of you, this means you have to survey your ships' companies for trained personnel, and those in need of training, both enlisted and officers, and forward the lists to my office. You should include their current training, and their current role in your crews and staffs, along with recommendation for who to send first, and who is due for an upgrade. Upgrades will often be a different course, quite possibly at Vernon rather than trying to build all course capability into the new station here. Our focus here will be basic signals for enlisted and officers, and on officers' upgrades. In general, if the numbers turn out to be too large, we will have priority courses run at Vernon and we will dispatch groups there for that.
“To let the School get established and do its job, we will coordinate which men of the Fleet to take into each batch, and for which course. This will be done to balance the personnel drawn from each ship and squadron. While they will be here at Scapa and usually ready to go to sea with their ships if required, it will be better if such absences can be limited so that courses can be completed. Yes, this is a bit outside the IGSC role, but it seems to fit in administratively for the moment, and will help out the Fleet Staff.
“For the Communications Officer of each ship, some already have a qualified man. In this case they can wait until the new course for Communications Officers is ready and take that with some of their peers. Otherwise there will be regular signals courses organized for officers – that means they will go at a faster pace, for those bright young men.” There was some general chuckling at this. “In addition, for those who have previously taken the Short Course, we may allow them some exemptions in the Officers course.
“Now I note that this will be a change in that the position will be formally established in the ship, rather than just assigning some officer general responsibility for signals. This is being coordinated with the Second Lord's office. And even if you don't get extra bodies, this will be a specific and enhanced responsibility.
“Finally, Flag Lieutenants will have to be trained signal officers. After all that is their actual job – not just organizing your schedule and lending you his umbrella when you forget yours – or he forgets to bring two.” This last brought general laughter as most recalled the recent case of a young Flag Lieutenant who arrived at a flag officers' meeting in a driving rain looking more like a harbour seal than an officer...although why he had gone out on a grey day in Scapa without even his rain coat was a mystery to all. “They need to be able to ensure that your signals traffic is done well, both outward to your command and your commander, and inward from them. This is critical in the modern high-speed naval battlefield.”
There was some restlessness at this and a couple of Vice Admirals made as if to speak. Jellicoe stood and moved to the small podium. “I'll address this before it starts. I can tell you quite clearly that this will take place. Admiral Fisher and I have discussed it with Vice Admiral Hamilton and it will be done. The Second Lord's office is fully on board with this change. The Flag Lieutenant who is not a qualified signals officer is going to be a liability, if he is not already. If your orders are not clear in themselves, or are not sent out in a manner that can be received and acted upon quickly, then they do no good at all. We will do this across the RN as soon as practicable.
“The one bit of flexibility might be for a separate Signals and Communications Officer in addition to your flag Lieutenant, a more senior officer with responsibility for this critical function. This will work where there is a larger staff, but an additional officer might not be justified in all cases.”
Jellicoe continued in a firm tone. “Now I suggest we limit discussion on this point and stick with the new signals and communication program.”
Evan Thomas stepped back to the podium. “Gentlemen, the main points of the program have been laid out as best we know them today. We continue to develop and refine as we go along. Details and of course scheduling are being worked out, but Admiral Jellicoe wanted you to know the general program as soon as possible so you could begin making plans in your squadrons and ships.
“Now, to focus the discussion, I will call for questions around each topic in its turn. Let's begin with the Signal School branch we are going to have here.”
