The First Sea Lords: From Fisher to Mountbatten

(Hardback)

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This volume of essays is designed to fill an existing gap in the literature devoted to modern British naval history by providing a scholarly analysis of the First Sea Lords from the time of Admiral Fisher to that of Earl Mountbatten. Apart from assessing the role and performance in office of the individual First Sea Lords from the time of the "Entente Cordiale" in 1904 to the heyday of the Macmillan premiership in 1959, this book also reveals the extent of the influence each of these experienced sailor-administrators exerted upon British naval policy-making in the 20th century. Strongly rooted in primary as distinct from purely secondary source material, these essays are informative, fair and balanced portrayals of the individual First Sea Lords and the impact they have had upon both the Admiralty's administrative and strategic domains. Written by a range of established and emerging naval historians from around the world, this book gives praise where it is due, but it is also sharply critical of the shortcomings of those who, once installed in office, did precious little.

Author Bio

MALCOLM H. MURFETT completed his undergraduate program at Leeds University and won a scholarship to New College, Oxford, in 1974. While working on his doctorate in Modern History, he was chosen to become the Principal Research Assistant to the Earl of Birkenhead. After spending five years on the officially commissioned, single-volume biography of Sir Winston Churchill, he was appointed Lecturer in Modern History at the National University of Singapore and was subsequently promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1986. Mr. Murfett has also been a Senior Associate Member of St. Antony's College, Oxford, a Visiting Professor in Modern British History at York University, Toronto, and a Visiting Fellow at University College, University of New South Wales in Canberra. He became a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1990.