William Wordsworth Fisher

Admiral SIR William Wordsworth Fisher, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., Royal Navy (26 March, 1875 – 24 June, 1937) was an officer of the Royal Navy during the First World War.

Early Life & Career

Sub-Lieutenant Fisher was appointed to the first class protected cruiser Hawke on 13 January, 1896.

As Lieutenant (G) in King Edward VII, as enterprising naval persons were fairly required to do, Fisher exploited a gap in the rules of a pre-war prize firing to have all his light gun crews use the same single, slavishly perfected and tweaked gun mount. It sported a super-sized telescope and the results were astounding: crew after crew was hitting 19 out of 20 rounds on a 10-foot square target at over a thousand yards. The winning performance inspired rule changes for the coming year's competition.

He qualified as an Interpreter in French at some point.

Fisher was promoted to the rank of Commander on 30 June, 1906 and to Captain on 1 July, 1912.

He was appointed to command the battleship St. Vincent on 10 December, 1912 as Flag Captain. He remained in her until 10 May, 1917, though he had ceased being Flag Captain on 24 October, 1915.

Great War

He was appointed an Additional Member of the Third Class, or Companion, in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (C.B.) on 1 January, 1918.

He commanded St. Vincent at the Battle of Jutland, operating with the Grand Fleet's First Battle Squadron. He reported firing 96 seemingly accurate shells by director without suffering damage.

Post-War

Fisher was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 1 November, 1922, vice Green.

He was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral on 15 January, 1928, vice Crooke.

On the occasion of the King's birthday he was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Second Class, or Knight Commander, in the Military Division of the Order of the Bath (K.C.B.) on 3 June, 1929.

Assessment

Marder wrote of Fisher:

But for his death when C.-in-C., Portsmouth, he would probably have succeeded Chatfield and become, no doubt, one of the great First Sea Lords in British naval history.

Bibliography

• "Admiral Sir William Fisher" (Obituaries). The Times. Saturday, 26 June, 1937. Issue 47721, col C, pg. 16.
• "Ecclesiastical News" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 27 September, 1946. Issue 50567, col B, pg. 13.
• "Obituary" (Obituaries). The Times. Tuesday, 2 February, 1962. Issue 56235, col E, pg. 14.
• James, Admiral Sir William Milbourne, Royal Navy (1943). Admiral Sir William Fisher. London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd.
• Marder, Arthur Jacob (1965). From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow, The Royal Navy in the Fisher Era, 1904-1919: The War Years : To the Eve of Jutland.. Volume II. London: Oxford University Press.
• Usborne, C. V. (1935). Blast and Counter-Blast. London: John Murray.

Papers

• Papers in the possession of the National Maritime Museum. For a detailed list see Fisher Papers at the National Maritime Museum.
• Papers in the possession of Churchill College, Cambridge.

Service Records

• The National Archives. ADM 196/141.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/89.
• The National Archives. ADM 196/44.

See Also

• Wikipedia

Naval Appointments
Preceded by The Hon. Herbert E. Holmes-à-Court	Captain of H.M.S. St. Vincent 10 Dec, 1912 – 10 May, 1917	Succeeded by Edward Reeves
Preceded by Alexander L. Duff	Director of the Anti-Submarine Division 31 May, 1917 – 2 Jan, 1919	Succeeded by Forster D. Arnold-Forster
Preceded by Eustace La T. Leatham	Captain of H.M.S. Iron Duke 2 Jan, 1919 – 26 Aug, 1919	Succeeded by Richard A. S. Hill
Preceded by 1BS Reformed in Mediterranean	Vice-Admiral Commanding, First Battle Squadron 14 Oct, 1924	Succeeded by Cecil M. Staveley
Preceded by 1BS Reformed in Mediterranean	Rear-Admiral in the First Battle Squadron 14 Oct, 1924 – 7 Sep, 1925	Succeeded by Cecil M. Staveley
Preceded by Alan G. Hotham	Director of Naval Intelligence 17 Aug, 1926 – 1 Jan, 1927	Succeeded by Barry E. Domvile
Preceded by John D. Kelly	Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Supplies and Transport 30 Apr, 1927 – 2 Apr, 1928	Succeeded by Vernon Haggard
Preceded by Sir Frederick L. Field	Deputy Chief of Naval Staff 1 May, 1928 – 30 Jun, 1930	Succeeded by Sir Frederic C. Dreyer
Preceded by W. A. Howard Kelly	Vice-Admiral Commanding, First Battle Squadron 12 Sep, 1930 – 12 Apr, 1932	Succeeded by Charles M. Forbes
Preceded by Sir Alfred E. M. Chatfield	Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station 30 Sep, 1932 – 20 Mar, 1936	Succeeded by Sir Alfred D. P. R. Pound
Preceded by Sir John D. Kelly	Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth Station 13 Jul, 1936 – Jun, 1937	Succeeded by The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Cork and Orrery