Why the Admiralty resisted a modern naval staff

Around 1900 the Third Sea Lord's organization, communications specialists, and intelligence branch were among the Admiralty's few substantial administrative bodies. Senior officers feared that written plans could leak, although keeping policy in one admiral's head made continuity equally fragile if he became unavailable. They also inherited a heroic Victorian image of age-of-sail admirals commanding without staffs. That image overlooked extensive informal support, including officers' wives and daughters who copied correspondence and assisted with languages. Steam fleets then imposed heavier logistical and technical demands because planners had to supply fuel and machinery as well as crews, making the old myth an especially poor guide to modern administration.