department and detail complete naval efficiency and the instant readiness of the fleet for war. He encouraged his officers of all ranks to study for themselves the problems of modern warfare. He visited every part of his station with his mind alert to seize every opportunity of making his fleet ready for any emergency that might arise. He introduced longer ranges for firing, and insisted on the need for constant training and practice in gunnery and in testing and developing every new device, from the control of firing to the newly invented wireless telegraphy, for making his ships and squadrons more effective in action. It was typical of him that, whereas other commanders-in-chief had given cups for boat-pulling and sailing, he offered one for tactical essays. He was immensely popular on the lower deck and was an inspiration to the younger officers, who admired his dislike of routine and contempt for any customs and precedents which were not warranted by sound reason. He inspired officers to enthusiasm by personal lectures on all manner of subjects connected with the future development of their profession, couched in a language as fresh and as invigorating as it was unconventional. The preparation of these lectures was the starting-point in his own mind of a great scheme of administrative reform to fit the navy for defending the Empire, under the new conditions of modern science and the changing aspect of foreign relations. The Earl of Selborne, who had become first lord of the Admiralty at the end of 1900, paid a visit to Malta and the Mediterranean fleet in the summer of 1901. Fisher laid before him an outline of his projected reforms; and after returning home Lord Selborne invited Fisher to rejoin the Admiralty board in the following summer as second sea lord with charge of the personnel of the fleet. This post had usually been filled by the appointment of a rear-admiral, and the fact that Fisher reached the rank of full admiral in November 1901 served in itself to indicate that an unusual task was expected of him.
Fisher, who was promoted G.C.B. at King Edward’s coronation (August 1902), lost no time on his arrival in Whitehall in formulating the first, and in some ways the most striking, of his proposed changes. This was the new scheme of entry in training of officers, under which executive officers, engineers, and marines were all to be entered at the early age of twelve and trained together under one common system for four years in colleges on shore before going to sea, specializing later in the particular branch of the service they were to adopt. The scheme was promulgated in a memorandum published on Christmas Day 1902. Both the naval and the civil members of the board were unanimous in its favour, and Lord Selborne, who took a personal hand in framing it, secured the sanction of the Cabinet for its issue. The novelty of training all officers in engineering for four years on shore aroused considerable hostility among many naval officers, especially of the older school, and there was abundant criticism in detail. Fisher devoted the next nine months, with a buoyant enthusiasm and indomitable energy, to carrying the reforms into immediate effect. The sudden drop of three years in the age of entry made it necessary to carry on the old scheme of entry for three years so as to prevent a gap in the flow of new officers to the fleet. A college at Dartmouth was already under construction to replace the old Britannia training ship; but a second college was wanted at once to accommodate the larger number of officers of the new entry system for the longer course of four years. As the navy was undertaking the entire education of the boys from the early age of twelve, a staff of masters on the public-school system, as well as of officers responsible for instilling naval training and traditions, was necessary. To prevent the evils of competitive examination for lads of such tender years, a new system of selection, after interview, was adopted; and a new college, constructed and completely equipped in nine months, was opened in September 1903 in the grounds of the Osborne House property belonging to the King. This device of selection after interview, tempered by a qualifying examination, has by its proved merit lived down much initial criticism, has been permanently adopted, and has since been imitated, with suitable modifications, in other branches of the public service. The scheme of common entry has been subjected to certain changes; the inclusion of officers intended for the Royal Marines has been abandoned, and the age of entry has been slightly raised to correspond with the normal age at which boys leave preparatory schools for public schools; but in all the main essentials it has so far stood the test of time, and seems likely to be a permanent feature of the royal navy. Alterations in the organization and training of all branches of the lower ranks in the service occupied Fisher’s attention during this annus mirabilis. At the end of it, in September 1903, he went to Portsmouth as commander-in-chief,
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