Percy Noble built the foundations at Western Approaches

Percy Noble brought his experience as Fourth Sea Lord, the post responsible for logistics, to Western Approaches. Working alongside Reginald Henderson from 1935 to 1938 had taught him how to build the processes, equipment and systems a fleet needed. His consensus-driven leadership created much of the organization that Max Horton later used more aggressively in the Battle of the Atlantic. Noble was replaced because some considered him insufficiently forceful, which can obscure how much of Horton's success rested on structures already in place.