Page "David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty" Paragraph 31

On 1 March 1913 he received the appointment of Rear-Admiral Commanding the First Battle Cruiser Squadron.

Beatty was late taking up his new post, choosing not to cut short a holiday in Monte Carlo.

On his eventual arrival, he set about drafting standing orders regarding how the squadron was to operate.

He noted, ' Captains ... to be successful must possess, in a marked degree, initiative, resource, determination, and no fear of accepting responsibility ', and particularly regarding wartime conditions '... as a rule instructions will be of a very general character so as to avoid interfering with the judgement and initiative of captains ... The admiral will rely on captains to use all the information at their disposal to grasp the situation quickly and anticipate his wishes, using their own discretion as to how to act in unforeseen circumstances ..' The approach outlined by Beatty contradicted the views of many within the navy, who felt that ships should always be closely controlled by their commanding admiral, and harked back to reforms attempted by Admiral George Tryon.

It is argued that Tryon had attempted to introduce greater independence and initiative amongst his captains, which he believed would be essential in the confusion of a real war situation, but had ironically been killed in an accident caused by captains rigorously obeying incorrect but precise orders issued by Tryon himself.