Admiral Insubordinate: The Life and Times of Lord Beresford

by Richard Freeman

The biography of Britain's most insubordinate admiral. Beresford was variously a Government minister, three times a commander-in-chief and four times an MP. He could fill public halls with his rabble-rousing speeches; he could pack the Commons with his venomous attacks on ministers; he could instil love and obedience in any sailor's heart. Full of conflict and contradiction, Admiral Beresford's chapter in the story of the British Navy makes essential and entertaining reading.

Genres: History

294 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 2008

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admiral Insubordinate tells the story of Charles Beresford, a complex, talented and interesting (but without doubt in many cases difficult) character. The book does a great job of quickly and succinctly setting the scene for Beresford’s many and varied actions and adventures, which was much appreciated as I’m not particularly well-versed in Britain’s 19th century outside of things naval. I enjoyed reading it, and while the author is quite comfortable passing judgement on events, often with fairly strong language, the judgements themselves (unlike many of the judgements of the subject of the book when using strong language!) were sound.

The book has an interesting and slightly unusual (at least for naval history) writing style, that works well with the character of the story, and the many subjects covered. At times it felt a little “choppy”, jumping quickly from one thing to the next, but the alternative would have been covering less, so it’s understandable. A very few editing errors aside, the writing is clear and easy to follow, although it was a shame the editing errors were a bit clumsy (for example, on one page the text refers to someone’s rank as one thing, and in a caption to a picture of the individual as another (and the text was incorrect, so it wasn’t an issue of a later picture being used). In another, Beresford’s 1900-1902 flagship Ramillies is illustrated by the Royal Sovereign class super-dreadnought of the same name.

As well as the text, there are many illustrations throughout the text – as they are printed on fairly standard stock, the quality of reproduction could be better, but they still do a good job of helping the reader understand the story. There was a helpful chronology of Beresford’s appointments at the end, and a bibliography, as well as source notes for each chapter (although not referenced directly, and bundled together with nothing but a full stop separating them, making it very difficult to determine which source references which statement) and a good (fairly comprehensive) index.

All up, a very enjoyable read, and I was glad it was recommended to me. It’s a very interesting story of an important character in the Royal Navy of the 19th and early 20th century, and well worth a read for anyone to interested in the RN of the period.

[Ryan Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Courageous, rich and well connected, Charles Beresford had all the opportunities he could ask for to prosper in the Royal Navy. He clearly had talent right up through to the tactical level according to Fisher's assessment of Beresford's wargame performances. So what when wrong? Freemen's book gives the impression of a man who believed in the divine right of Admirals, specifically his own. Beresford clearly believed he, and only he, deserved to be the Commander in Chief but never seemed willing to put in the work necessary to get to that point. A man bereft of diplomacy and in love with the sound of his own voice he alienated allies and made enemies throughout his misguided political career. What I find most shocking is that without the will to work hard, with little experience at sea, and his uncanny knack to alienate superiors and politicians alike, he still rose to within reaching distance of the top post.

All over a fascinating insight into the late Victorian and Edwardian navy and in particular the Fisher/Beresford Feud that so defined the Royal Navy for years...a great read.

[lenny dorling · Rating 4 out of 5]

bit of a shit stirrer but bought the RN up to speed