Officers trained between 1905 and 1919 formed much of the Royal Navy's middle and senior leadership in the next war, providing a practical test of the reform. Twenty years after the scheme ended, its cohort supplied many of the captains, commodores, and rear admirals directing ships and formations. The oldest flag officers had entered before common entry, so the connection is strongest below the very top of the hierarchy. In this interpretation, the Royal Navy's wartime performance shows the scheme's long institutional reach and the value of broadly educated officers.
Notable Point · 40:15-41:09
The Selborne generation commands in the Second World War
Twenty years after the scheme ended, many captains, commodores, and rear admirals fighting the Second World War were products of its common education.