The Royal Navy needed promotion room and could not keep every flag officer indefinitely. Wartime responsibility also drained officers physically and emotionally, leaving some once-gregarious figures visibly changed. Admirals who remained retired were generally competent, but another officer might fit the available post better. Reaching rear admiral already meant surviving demanding professional filters. Retirement was therefore a comparative institutional choice rather than a simple dismissal for incompetence.
Chapter · 48:38-50:19
Retirement was not a verdict of incompetence
Most retired admirals had already survived severe professional selection; the Navy released them to create promotion room, relieve exhaustion, or choose a still better fit.