1911-1913
In December of 1911 Vice-Admiral Jellicoe was back in Gibraltar, which
thanks to the presence of the Fleet and its Commander's popularity
experienced quite the most successful season it had ever known. The
American cruiser _Chester_ was in port and did her share in the round
of balls, dinners and sports which were held. The Gibraltar Jockey
Club held its winter meeting on the picturesque North Front racecourse
and attracted a remarkable and cosmopolitan gathering.
It was on December 13th that the Peninsular and Oriental steamer
_Delhi_, conveying the Princess Royal and the Duke of Fife and their
family to Egypt, ran ashore on the Moroccan coast off Cape Spartel.
The _Delhi_ left London on December 8th, and just outside the Straits
of Gibraltar she encountered a terrific gale.
The Atlantic Fleet should have left the Rock on the thirteenth, but
when news was received of the disaster Jellicoe immediately sent
battleships and cruisers to the assistance of the _Delhi_.
Great anxiety had been felt at Gibraltar throughout the previous night
at the non-arrival of the _Delhi_, which was due the previous day, and
arrangements had been made by the Governor and Admiral Jellicoe to
visit the Princess.
The French cruiser _Friant_ was the first to learn of the wreck, by
wireless, and she was immediately sent to the scene: the sea was
running very high, but at ten o'clock in the morning a steam launch
put out from the _Friant_ and succeeded in taking off twenty women and
children and transferring them to the cruiser _Duke of Edinburgh_,
which had arrived.
The gale increased in violence, but once again the _Friant's_ launch
attempted to cross the boiling waters and rescue more of the _Delhi's_
passengers. The heavy seas, however, put out her fires and drove her
ashore; nevertheless her plucky French sailors re-lit the fires and
again launched their boat. But the breakers soon capsized her and
threw her crew into the water, three of whom were drowned.
Towards the afternoon the seas went down and the British cruisers
managed to establish communication between the _Delhi_ and the shore.
Admiral Cradock was able to reach the _Delhi_ in his pinnace and took
off the Princess Royal and the Duke of Fife and put them ashore. But
in landing they were nearly swept away and only reached the beach
after a desperate struggle.
Eventually, all the passengers were safely got off the _Delhi_, and
though part of her cargo was saved--including bullion to the extent of
£500,000 which she was bringing back from India--she became a total
wreck.
Admiral Jellicoe reached England in time to meet the King and Queen on
their return from India, in the New Year; and in command of the Second
Division of the Home Fleet he had the honour of escorting their
Majesties--in the _Medina_--up the English Channel.
The ships under Jellicoe's command which performed this duty were the
_Agamemnon_, _Colossus_, _Hercules_, _Lord Nelson_, _Britannia_,
_Dominion_, _Hindustan_ and _Orion_, together with five cruisers.
Early in February Admiral Jellicoe had the honour of being received by
His Majesty at Buckingham Palace, when the King invested him with the
insignia of a Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the
Bath.
At this time Mr. Arnold White wrote a very interesting appreciation of
Jellicoe which appeared in _The Throne_ and which in many respects was
almost prophetic. The article was headed "The Man and the Moment," and
in referring to the task which would confront Admiral Jellicoe--if war
ever broke out--as Commander of the British forces at sea, he wrote as
follows:
"Vice-Admiral Sir John Jellicoe is the Emir upon whom our rulers have
thrust the heaviest responsibility that rests on the shoulders of any
man born of a woman. He is the man who has been told off to the job of
commanding the British forces at sea when war breaks out.
* * * * *
"Imagine what this means. Nelson's supreme task, heavy as it was, was
child's play compared to the work that lies ahead of the Admiral who
is now Second-in-Command of the Home Fleet. Nelson had hours to make
up his mind before attacking his foe at the Nile, at Copenhagen, off
the Spanish coast, and at the 'crowning mercy' of Trafalgar. Jellicoe
will have ten minutes from the time that the best look-out man in his
Fleet first sights the enemy's Fleet through a modern telescope.
Nelson could sleep o' nights, undisturbed by wireless messages,
torpedo attack, submarines, floating mines or aeroplanes.
* * * * *
"The night before the great sea fight that will settle the future of
Europe and the British Empire for two centuries, it is improbable that
Jellicoe will lie down to sleep. Therefore it is obvious that he must
be a man of great vitality, physical fitness, and tranquil mind, or
the Government would never have placed eleven vice-admirals on the
shelf--or 'on the beach,' as they say in the Navy--in order that a
mere Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet should be lifted
over the heads of all the senior officers who stood between Jellicoe
and the command of England's Home Fleet."
* * * * *
On May 8th, the King visited Portsmouth to inspect his Fleet and
witness certain technical exercises and manoeuvres carried out. By
far the most interesting event was Commander Samson's flight in a
hydro-aeroplane.
It was a wonderful performance, Commander Samson making his machine
perform the most astounding evolutions. Other members of the Air
Squadron gave superb exhibitions. The following day further remarkable
evolutions were performed on, under and above water.
There followed a mimic naval battle between the "Red" Fleet under
Admiral Sir George Callaghan and the "Blue" under Vice-Admiral Sir
John Jellicoe, in which the "Blue" distinguished itself and "sank" and
captured a great number of "Reds."
In July a Royal Commission was appointed to investigate and report on
the supply of oil fuel for the Navy, and Jellicoe was chosen as one of
the members of the Commission. Lord Fisher was Chairman.
The significance of the appointment of this Commission was very great.
It meant that the Navy was again faced with a revolution. The result
of the investigations and the reports that were made we are now able
to learn and appreciate.
In the fall of the year there were further changes made by the
Admiralty. Prince Louis of Battenberg succeeded Sir Francis Bridgeman
as First Sea Lord and Jellicoe was appointed as Second Sea Lord, which
practically put him in complete control at Whitehall. The greatest
satisfaction was caused in Naval circles by these changes.
When Jellicoe gave up his command of the Second Squadron of the Home
Fleet he was given a great send-off by the ships assembled there and
the following signal was flown from the flagship:
"The Rear-Admiral, Captains, Officers, and Ships' Companies of the
Second-Squadron express regret at the departure of the Vice-Admiral
and wish him every success in his new appointment."
Jellicoe replied by signalling his thanks and wishing the Squadron all
prosperity.
One of the first important steps taken by the new Sea Lord in 1913 was
to adopt the "Director" firing apparatus invented by Sir Percy Scott.
It was decided to supply all ships of the Dreadnought type with this
apparatus.
It was with the _Thunderer_ and _Orion_ that trials were first of all
carried out, in the presence of Admiral Jellicoe and other naval
experts.
The _Thunderer_ was built at the Thames Ironworks and fitted with the
"Director"; the _Orion_, a sister ship, was equipped with the
"fire-control" apparatus.
The _Thunderer_ and _Orion_ are both of the same design and both cost
the same amount to build.
The _Thunderer_, fitted with the "Director," at a target 10,000 yards
distant made eighty per cent. of hits. Such shooting as this was a
revelation; nothing like it had ever been dreamed of. It was four or
five times better practice than the _Orion_ could make fitted with the
"fire-control" system. It was better than any record made at 2,000
yards in the gunlayer's tests.
In simple language Sir Percy Scott's invention increased the hitting
power of a ship, at long range and in a heavy sea, by four hundred per
cent.
With its aid a tremendous broadside can be fired from a Dreadnought.
The officer in charge of the "Director" has a special "cabin" or
"room" in the fore of the ship, from which he can control and fire
every gun. He can discover the exact range of the enemy, and the
precise elevation for the guns. Every operation is controlled by the
"Director"--excepting, of course, loading and cleaning the guns.
The _Thunderer_ in 1913 could fire ten shells, each weighing 1,250
lbs., in one broadside. Each shell has a penetrating power of 1 foot
at 10,000 yards.
The _Iron Duke_, Admiral Jellicoe's flagship in 1914, can do even
better than this.