How the Medway raid encouraged dispersed naval reserves

The Royal Navy's ships in ordinary were spread among yards around Britain rather than held in one exposed concentration. The practice followed the Dutch raid on the Medway, when a single attack reached and removed many English ships. Dispersal meant that a later enemy might damage one reserve site but would not eliminate the entire pool of hulls awaiting repair or activation. Reserve geography was therefore part of the fleet's resilience rather than a matter of administrative storage alone.