Hugh Evan-Thomas - Post-war Controversy

Post-war Controversy

After the battle and still by the end of the war, considerable controversy abounded over exactly what had happened at Jutland and who, if anyone, was to blame for perceived failings. With the war over, it was decided to publish an official history of the battle. Captain John Harper was appointed by the then First Sea Lord, Sir Rosslyn Wemyss, to review all the available documentation and write the report. At the moment Wemyss retired and was replaced as First Sea Lord by Beatty, the finished book had already reached the stage of proof copies awaiting approval on his desk. Beatty objected to the account, requesting Harper make alterations which Harper refused to do unless Beatty would give him written orders to that effect. It had already become known to the public that Harper was writing the account (questions had been asked about it in parliament) and he refused to put his name to an account he could not agree with. Instead, Beatty appointed two brothers, Captains Alfred Dewar and Kenneth Dewar to write a 'staff appreciation' of the battle, which would be circulated to navy officers only. The Harper report was passed to Sir Julian Corbett, who was writing an official history of the whole naval war on behalf of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Corbett was shown the staff appreciation, and said I 'read it with increasing wonder till at last I felt it my duty to convey to the Admiralty that such a grotesque account of the battle certainly ought not to go out as their considered verdict'. The account was classified as 'secret' and yet another version was commissioned, the 'Admiralty Narrative'. This was shown to Jellicoe, and a long correspondence ensued where he objected to many parts of the narrative. With particular reference to Evan-Thomas, Jellicoe objected to the claim that Evan-Thomas had been responsible for the distance between his ships and Beatty's, which had resulted in Beatty going into battle without the support of the four most powerful ships in his command.

Evan-Thomas was never consulted over the account, but had obtained a copy. He arranged to speak to First Lord of the Admiralty Leo Amery in July 1923, but the meeting and ensuing correspondence with the admiralty failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion. The issue now also included when a flag signal from Lion had been hoisted and then lowered (which was the point at which the ship receiving the order was supposed to act upon it), the failure of which signal caused Evan-Thomas to continue steaming towards the enemy when he should have turned away with Beatty's other ships. Evan-Thomas arranged another interview in December 1923, but on this occasion Beatty interrupted the meeting before Evan-Thomas could explain his business, and 'pushed' him out of the room. Evan-Thomas returned to Chatham, but by 2.30 pm that day he was taken ill and was diagnosed to have suffered a stroke. In March 1924 he was obliged to retire, and was not sufficiently well to attend a formal interview with the king, as would be expected for a retiring admiral. He was awarded the grand cross of the Order of the Bath for his services to the navy.

In June 1924 the Admiralty Narrative was published, still without the corrections demanded by Jellicoe. Instead, a list of Jellicoe's objections was included as an appendix, together with refutations by the admiralty which Jellicoe had not been permitted to see. In May 1925 Evan-Thomas was finally able to see the King and discuss the matter. George was now in the position of formally having to support the admiralty: He recognised Evan-Thomas' legitimate grievances, but felt Beatty was an effective First Sea Lord at a time when the navy was under considerable threat from spending cuts and changes in public opinion, he felt it 'better for the nation that there should be no more controversy'.

Matters continued to simmer. German accounts of the battle were published, which went some way to credit Evan-Thomas' ships with most of the success against Hipper during the battle cruiser action. Then in 1927, Winston Churchill published his own account of the war, coming down heavily on Beatty's side in the argument. This prompted Evan-Thomas, now somewhat recovered from his illness, to write to the Times, publicly stating his case. A number of newspapers carried articles criticising Beatty's connection with the official report, and its contents. In March, a staged question about Evan-Thomas' failure to close up his ships with Beatty's was asked in the House of Commons, and answered with a statement that signal logs from Barham indicated signals to change course had indeed been received, at least as far as her accompanying destroyers were concerned. Harper had now retired from the navy, and published a new version of his account (The Truth about Jutland). Beatty was coming to the end of his appointment as First Sea Lord and was due to be replaced by Jellicoe's brother in law, Sir Charles Madden, and found his last few months a time of considerable criticism. The original Harper Record was now also published. A further rebuttal against Harper, The Truth about Harper, also appeared, and many other books have been published since.

Evan-Thomas became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore in 1921 and retired in 1924.