William Parker's eleven days as First Naval Lord

Parker had extensive operational and political experience, including command during the First Opium War and earlier service as Second Naval Lord. He nevertheless found the Admiralty's senior desk role intolerable almost immediately. Parker resigned after eleven days on grounds of ill health and resumed command of the Mediterranean Fleet. He then lived for another two decades, making the stated explanation look more like a polite escape from unwanted administrative work. His brief tenure sharply contrasts the appeal of command at sea with the political and managerial burdens of senior naval administration.