Tomkinson was officially blamed for failing to suppress the first protests, but he still became a vice admiral and completed his service without leaving in disgrace. Further promotion was probably already unlikely, which limits claims that Invergordon alone ended his advancement. The absence of the fleet's full admiral left a relatively junior officer known for good relations with sailors in temporary command. Events then worked in the Admiralty's favor and helped preserve cohesion within the fleet. The interpretation offered is that someone recognized an opportunity in those circumstances, without necessarily having plotted them in advance. That inference is explicitly unprovable.
Notable Point · 2:00:45-2:02:21
Tomkinson's career and a cautious Admiralty inference
Tomkinson's promotion and completion of service complicate claims of career ruin, while any Admiralty exploitation of events remains an unprovable interpretation.