The Jellicoe Papers - Selections from the Private and Official Correspondence of Admiral of the Fleet Earl Jellicoe of Scapa - Volume 1 - 1893-1916 - Publications of the Navy Records Society Vol CVIII

The first volume merely touches, in an introduction, on Jellicoe's time as DNO, but there are documents for his time as Controller and a few for the years 1910 to 1914. Nearly a hundred fascinating pages track Jellicoe's initial twelve months, from August 1914, as Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet. His abiding sensitivity to the pervasive danger from mines and submarines is soon communicated to Battenburg: 'Scapa is the only base we have which is almost safe against submarines.'There are nine pages of extracts from Grand Fleet Battle Orders foreshadowing aspects of the battle which would eventually come. A further hundred pages cover the period February 1915 to February 1916. The Dogger Bank action is analysed, especially the gunnery. The question of the North Sea bases is debated.Elsewhere Fisher complains of Jellicoe's 'lugubrious forecasts'. However, on 17 May, Crease writes that Fisher has resigned, having tired of always 'watching the First Lord instead of the Germans'. Jellicoe urges the Admiralty to provide for more minesweeping and for further offensive mining. He also suggests air spotting by seaplanes. Jellicoe and Beatty agree in deploring the 'battle practice' results of Tiger and Lion. More such practice is the only remedy envisaged. In January 1916 Jellicoe writes generally to Balfour about tactics and strategy. He rules out sending the fleet to the Baltic but endorses submarine operations there.The volume concludes in Part IV with the long-awaited event of 'Jutland and its Preliminaries and its Aftermath'. Here, a great deal - if not quite all - is revealed. There are four excellent diagrams....

Note - Volume 1 only