Lord Fisher

[dunmunro]

Some people active in this forum seem not to understand that Lord Fisher was given to making bombastic statements made to emphasize his point, but not to be taken literally:

My sole object is PEACE in doing all this [the fleet redistribution]! Because if you 'rubit in' both at home and abroad that you are ready for instant war with every unit of your strength in the first line, and intend to be 'first in' and hit your enemy in the belly and kick him when he's down and boil your prisoners in oil (if you take any!) And torture his women and children, then people will keep clear of you.
Strategy and War Planning in the British Navy, 1887-1918 By Shawn T . Grimes

"...in launching this formidable programme Lord Fisher interviewed personally the heads of shipbuilding firms and the responsible ... with an assurance on Lord Fisher's part that if the dates were not kept, he would see that " their wives were made widows, their children orphans, and their houses dunghills..." - Times

Fisher's comments regarding Troubridge is just another example of the above.

[Byron Angel]

.....Indeed. Fisher often employed hyperbole to emphasize a point he sought to make.

B

[Alberto Virtuani]

Dunmunro wrote: "Some people active in this forum seem not to understand that Lord Fisher was given to making bombastic statements made to emphasize his point, but not to be taken literally:"

Hi Duncan,
I assure that I do. The same book, where I took the sentence below about Troubridge and Milne, was stating exactly what you say here regarding Lord Fisher usage of hyperbole.

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Still, he was clearly very unhappy of them. He would not have easily accepted the 2 admirals being acquitted by the Court Martial for what they did. For sure he would not have had them decorated for allowing Goeben to reach Turkey, I guess.....

Bye, Alberto

[wadinga]

All,

Jacky Fisher had been dead for 16 years when Bismarck's keel was laid. Does this conversation have any place here?

All the best


wadinga

[dunmunro]

Probably not, but I thought it important to dispel any notion that Fisher and/or the Sea lords had the authority to order people shot...