But these were not the widely recognized images of George Tryon. “He was the most formidable figure in the Royal Navy, with an equal capacity for instilling fear, loyalty and confidence in those serving under him”;77 and an irony of his labours is that this man who sought to reduce centralization and to devolve responsibility – to debunk the paralysing myth of the senior admiral’s infallibility – was regarded by his subordinates with “a professional confidence almost equal to that given to the Deity”.78
