2. Their lordships congratulate the officers, seamen, and marines of the Grand Fleet on this, the first Fleet action which has occurred since the outbreak of the war, as a result of which the enemy, severely punished, withdrew to his own ports. The events of the 31st May and 1st June gave ample proof of the gallantry and devotion which characterised all who took part in the battle; the ships of every class were handled with skill and determination; their steaming under battle conditions afforded a splendid testimony to the zeal and efficiency of the engineering staff; while individual initiative and tactical subordination were equally conspicuous.

3. The results of the action prove that the officers and men of the Grand Fleet have known both how to study the new problems with which they are confronted and how to turn their knowledge to account. The expectations of the country were high; they have been well fulfilled.

4. My Lords desire me to convey to you their full approval of your proceedings on this occasion.

I am, Sir, your obedient Servant,
W. Graham Greene.

CHAPTER XVI
THE LESSONS OF EXPERIENCE; LORD KITCHENER’S FAREWELL

The ships which had received damage in the Jutland Battle had to be repaired without delay. The great majority of the repairs were completed during June or by the first week in July, and, whilst under repair, the opportunity was taken of effecting certain alterations which experience gained in the action had shown to be desirable. The Marlborough was the only large ship whose repairs occupied any considerable length of time, and even she rejoined the Fleet in August, although the work upon her was handicapped to some extent by being carried out in a floating dock moored in a somewhat inconvenient position. The light cruiser Chester was also detained at Hull until July 29th, as her injuries from gunfire were fairly extensive, and a great many alterations were carried out. The principal points affecting matériel to which attention was directed were:

(a) The urgent need for arrangements to prevent the flash of cordite charges, ignited by the explosion of a shell in a turret or in positions between the turret and the magazine, being communicated to the magazine itself. It was probable that the loss of one, if not two, of our battle cruisers was due to this cause, after the armour had been pierced.

(b) Better measures were required to prevent the charges of small guns from being ignited by bursting shell, and to localise any fires due to this cause, in the case of guns of the secondary battery in large ships, and the main armament in small ships.

(c) Increased deck armour protection in large ships had been shown to be desirable in order that shell or fragments of shell might not reach the magazines. This need was particularly felt in all our earlier ships of the Dreadnought type, since their side armour was not carried to the upper deck level. The long range at which most modern sea actions are fought, and the consequent large angle of descent of the projectiles made our ships very vulnerable in this respect.

(d) The pressing need for a better armour-piercing projectile with an improved fuze was also revealed.