Syndicate of Discontent: Difference between revisions
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The '''Syndicate of Discontent''' was a label given to the opposition to Admiral of the Fleet [[John Arbuthnot Fisher, First Baron Fisher|Lord Fisher]] during his first term as [[First Sea Lord]] from 1904 to 1910. | The '''Syndicate of Discontent''' was a label given to the opposition to Admiral of the Fleet [[John Arbuthnot Fisher, First Baron Fisher|Lord Fisher]] during his first term as [[First Sea Lord]] from 1904 to 1910. This opposition was not organised, yet has been portrayed by historians as a monolithic bloc opposing Fisher and his reforms at the [[Admiralty]], and damned as being conservative or even "wrong-minded".<ref>Lambert. ''Admirals''. p. 315.</ref> | ||
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<blockquote>A naval friend in the enemy's camp told me the day before yesterday that the "Syndicate of Discontent" (as they call these Naval Adullamites!) were now about to redouble their efforts against the Admiralty.<ref>''Fear God and Dread Nought''. '''Volume II'''. p. 110.</ref></blockquote> | <blockquote>A naval friend in the enemy's camp told me the day before yesterday that the "Syndicate of Discontent" (as they call these Naval Adullamites!) were now about to redouble their efforts against the Admiralty.<ref>''Fear God and Dread Nought''. '''Volume II'''. p. 110.</ref></blockquote> | ||
This | This is the first recorded mention of a Syndicate. The term was clearly not Fisher's, yet he is occasionally credited as its inventor.<ref name="Halpern">Halpern. "Syndicate of discontent (act. 1904–1910)."</ref> Just five days after he wrote this a letter from [[William Henry White|Sir William White]], lately [[Director of Naval Construction]], appeared in ''The Times'' under the pseudonym "Civis", which read in part: | ||
<blockquote>Already the engines of vessels at sea are being directly controlled from the bridge as in a motor-car, and the efforts of all the members of the syndicate of discontent cannot arrest the scientific evolution of the Fleet, the substance of which has been co-ordinated by one great brain.<ref>"Naval Discipline", ''The Times'', 8 Jan. 1907, p. 5.</ref></blockquote> | <blockquote>Already the engines of vessels at sea are being directly controlled from the bridge as in a motor-car, and the efforts of all the members of the syndicate of discontent cannot arrest the scientific evolution of the Fleet, the substance of which has been co-ordinated by one great brain.<ref>"Naval Discipline", ''The Times'', 8 Jan. 1907, p. 5.</ref></blockquote> | ||
That White is generally included in the Syndicate is | That White is then generally included in the Syndicate demonstrates how foolish it is to try and assign it any definite membership or organisation.<ref name="Marder">Marder. ''From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow''. '''I'''. p. 77.</ref><ref name=Lambert>Lambert. ''The Foundations of Naval History''. p. 197.</ref> In 1915 Fisher wrote of Admiral FitzGerald, "This is an Admiral who from being a close friend became my ''malignant'' enemy!"<ref>''Fear God and Dread Nought''. '''Volume II'''. p. 112n.</ref> | ||
Members are said to have included: | Members are said to have included: | ||
*Admiral [[Charles William de la Poer Beresford, First Baron Beresford|Lord Beresford]]<ref name=Marder/> | *Admiral [[Charles William de la Poer Beresford, First Baron Beresford|Lord Beresford]]<ref name=Marder/> | ||
*Admiral [[Cyprian Arthur George Bridge|Sir Cyprian A. G. Bridge]] | *Admiral [[Cyprian Arthur George Bridge|Sir Cyprian A. G. Bridge]]<ref name=Halpern/> | ||
*L. Cope Cornford<ref name=Marder/> | *L. Cope Cornford<ref name=Marder/> | ||
*Admiral [[Michael Culme-Seymour, Third Baronet|Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, Bart.]]<ref name=Lambert/> | *Admiral [[Michael Culme-Seymour, Third Baronet|Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, Bart.]]<ref name=Lambert/> | ||
| Line 34: | Line 34: | ||
*Admiral of the Fleet [[Edward Hobart Seymour|Sir Edward H. Seymour]]<ref name=Lambert/> | *Admiral of the Fleet [[Edward Hobart Seymour|Sir Edward H. Seymour]]<ref name=Lambert/> | ||
*Lord Sydenham<ref name=Marder/> | *Lord Sydenham<ref name=Marder/> | ||
*Admiral of the Fleet [[Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, First Baronet|Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee, Bart.]]<ref name=Halpern/> | |||
*Admiral of the Fleet [[Rosslyn Erskine Wemyss, First Baron Wester Wemyss|Lord Wester Wemyss]]<ref name=Halpern/> | |||
*[[William Henry White|Sir William H. White]]<ref name=Marder/> | *[[William Henry White|Sir William H. White]]<ref name=Marder/> | ||
*H. W. Wilson<ref name=Marder/> | *H. W. Wilson<ref name=Marder/> | ||
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*Halpern, Paul G. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-96386. "Syndicate of discontent (act. 1904–1910)."] ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. | *Halpern, Paul G. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-96386. "Syndicate of discontent (act. 1904–1910)."] ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. | ||
*Lambert, Andrew (1998). ''The Foundations of Naval History: John Knox Laughton, the Royal Navy and the Historical Profession''. London: Chatham Publishing. | *Lambert, Andrew (1998). ''The Foundations of Naval History: John Knox Laughton, the Royal Navy and the Historical Profession''. London: Chatham Publishing. | ||
*Lambert, Andrew (2008). ''Admirals: The Naval Officers Who Made Britain Great''. London: Faber and Faber Limited. | |||
*{{MarderFDSFI}} | *{{MarderFDSFI}} | ||
{{refend}} | {{refend}} | ||
Revision as of 10:11, 27 January 2018
The Syndicate of Discontent was a label given to the opposition to Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher during his first term as First Sea Lord from 1904 to 1910. This opposition was not organised, yet has been portrayed by historians as a monolithic bloc opposing Fisher and his reforms at the Admiralty, and damned as being conservative or even "wrong-minded".[1]
Fisher wrote to an unidentified correspondent on 3 January 1907:
A naval friend in the enemy's camp told me the day before yesterday that the "Syndicate of Discontent" (as they call these Naval Adullamites!) were now about to redouble their efforts against the Admiralty.[2]
This is the first recorded mention of a Syndicate. The term was clearly not Fisher's, yet he is occasionally credited as its inventor.[3] Just five days after he wrote this a letter from Sir William White, lately Director of Naval Construction, appeared in The Times under the pseudonym "Civis", which read in part:
Already the engines of vessels at sea are being directly controlled from the bridge as in a motor-car, and the efforts of all the members of the syndicate of discontent cannot arrest the scientific evolution of the Fleet, the substance of which has been co-ordinated by one great brain.[4]
That White is then generally included in the Syndicate demonstrates how foolish it is to try and assign it any definite membership or organisation.[5][6] In 1915 Fisher wrote of Admiral FitzGerald, "This is an Admiral who from being a close friend became my malignant enemy!"[7]
Members are said to have included:
- Admiral Lord Beresford[5]
- Admiral Sir Cyprian A. G. Bridge[3]
- L. Cope Cornford[5]
- Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, Bart.[6]
- Admiral Sir Reginald N. Custance[5]
- Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur D. Fanshawe[6]
- Admiral C. C. Penrose FitzGerald
- Admiral The Hon. Sir Edmund R. Fremantle[6]
- Admiral Sir R. Vesey Hamilton[5]
- Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Kerr[6]
- Lady Londonderry.[5]
- Admiral Sir Albert H. Markham[6]
- Sir Clements R. Markham.[6]
- Admiral of the Fleet Sir Hedworth Meux, born Lambton.[5]
- Admiral of the Fleet Sir Gerard H. U. Noel
- Lieutenant-Colonel Charles à C. Repington
- Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick W. Richards[5]
- Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward H. Seymour[6]
- Lord Sydenham[5]
- Admiral of the Fleet Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee, Bart.[3]
- Admiral of the Fleet Lord Wester Wemyss[3]
- Sir William H. White[5]
- H. W. Wilson[5]
Footnotes
- ↑ Lambert. Admirals. p. 315.
- ↑ Fear God and Dread Nought. Volume II. p. 110.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Halpern. "Syndicate of discontent (act. 1904–1910)."
- ↑ "Naval Discipline", The Times, 8 Jan. 1907, p. 5.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 Marder. From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow. I. p. 77.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Lambert. The Foundations of Naval History. p. 197.
- ↑ Fear God and Dread Nought. Volume II. p. 112n.
Bibliography
- Fisher of Kilverstone, Lord (1956). Marder, Arthur J.. ed. Fear God and Dread Nought: The Correspondence of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher of Kilverstone: Years of Power, 1904-1912. Volume II. London: Jonathan Cape.
- Halpern, Paul G. "Syndicate of discontent (act. 1904–1910)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- Lambert, Andrew (1998). The Foundations of Naval History: John Knox Laughton, the Royal Navy and the Historical Profession. London: Chatham Publishing.
- Lambert, Andrew (2008). Admirals: The Naval Officers Who Made Britain Great. London: Faber and Faber Limited.
- Marder, Arthur J. (1961). From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow, The Royal Navy in the Fisher Era, 1904-1919: The Road to War, 1904-1914. Volume I. London: Oxford University Press.
