Early on 16 September, Tomkinson tells the fleet that Rear Admiral Colvin is taking its complaints to the Admiralty and asks sailors to return to duty while a decision is considered. First Lord Austen Chamberlain emerges as a central political actor in the crisis. Chamberlain had driven the policy through without consulting First Sea Lord Sir Frederick Field, who was ill, while other senior officers at the Admiralty and Invergordon were also absent through illness. The top-down implementation combined confidence in administrative control with weak knowledge of the fleet's personnel. Between 1934 and 1937, Chamberlain joined Churchill, Roger Keyes, Leo Amery, and others in calling for rearmament against the threats from Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Japan. Tomkinson, acting below the intended command level, was left to manage the immediate consequences and later absorbed much of the blame.
Chapter · 1:16:24-1:20:24
Colvin's mission and Austen Chamberlain's top-down policy
Tomkinson sent Rear Admiral Colvin to carry the fleet's complaints to London, where the crisis exposed how First Lord Austen Chamberlain had pushed the pay policy while senior naval advisers were ill.