Before Fisher, successive First Sea Lords normally held office for about five years, giving naval policy a measure of continuity. After Fisher, Arthur Wilson, Francis Bridgeman, and Prince Louis of Battenberg followed one another in much shorter tenures. The Fisher-Beresford feud and Beresford's political campaigning contributed to that instability. Beresford attacked Winston Churchill and stirred anti-German pressure against Battenberg in elite political circles, helping force Battenberg's resignation in 1914. He expected the vacancy to advance his own claim, but Fisher was recalled instead. Personal rivalry and public campaigning unsettled strategic leadership on the eve of war. One suggested remedy was to give First and Second Sea Lords five-year appointments, staggered so they changed halfway through one another's terms.
Chapter · 1:46:22-1:52:46
Parliamentary pressure and naval leadership instability
Long First Sea Lord tenures gave way to rapid turnover as Beresford's campaigns against Admiralty leaders deepened institutional instability before the First World War.