Reginald Tyrwhitt and aggressive Harwich Force command

A 1930 discussion of Mediterranean Fleet command favored a younger man in peace while suggesting that imminent war would make Reginald Tyrwhitt the preferred choice. His First World War reputation came from command of the Harwich Force and a habit of seeking contact with the enemy. He fitted the naval ideal of the 'salt horse', an officer who repeatedly chose sea commands over shore administration. His force trained for night fighting, which gives a specific basis for the regret about its absence from Jutland. A different outcome with Tyrwhitt present remains a counterfactual judgment, rather than an established consequence.