Fisher of Kilverstone,

by Ruddock Finlay Mackay

There was probably no more controversial figure in British naval history than 'Jacky' Fisher, the architect of Jellicoe's fleet in the Great War. On a basis of extended research and much new material, this biography examines hitherto unanswered question relating to 'the Fisher era'. Special attention is paid to the earlier part of a career extending from the age of sail to the development of sonar in the Great War. Personalities loom large, from hard-bitten sailors of the Crimean War to Lord Charles Beresford and Winston Churchill&mdsh;to say nothing of the 'demonic' Fisher, with his passions and organizational genius.

539 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

While serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy during the Second World War, Ruddock Mackay earned a BA in British and European history by correspondence through Auckland University. After the war he read philosophy, politics and economics at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. He was senior lecturer in history at the Royal Naval College Dartmouth from 1954 until 1965, and a lecturer in modern history at the University of St Andrews from 1965 until his retirement in 1983.