t up to this figure
by the early spring of 1917, although, of course, it fell far short of
requirements in earlier months. It was well known to us that the High
Sea Fleet would be accompanied by at least eight flotillas, or
eighty-eight destroyers, when proceeding to sea at its _selected_
moment, and it was quite probable that the number might be much higher,
as many more vessels were available. At our _average_ moment, even with
a nominal force of one hundred destroyers and ten flotilla leaders, we
could not expect that more than seventy destroyers and eight leaders
would be present with the Fleet, since, in addition to those absent
refitting, a considerable number were always engaged on trade protection
or anti-submarine work in northern waters which could not join up in
time to accompany the Fleet to sea. When the Scandinavian convoy was
started in April, 1917, one flotilla leader and six destroyers from the
Grand Fleet were used for its protection; other vessels in northern
waters also depended on Grand Fleet destroyers for protection. Any
further transference, therefore, of destroyers from the Grand Fleet to
southern waters for trade protection was a highly dangerous expedient,
involving increased risk from submarine attack on the heavy ships in the
event of the Fleet proceeding to sea, as well as disadvantages in a
Fleet action. The necessity, however, was so great that the risk had to
be faced, and for some months of 1917 from eight to twelve Grand Fleet
destroyers were used for trade protection in the Atlantic, principally
from Irish ports, in addition to those protecting trade in the North
Sea.

It is interesting to note the number of persons who claim to have been
the first to urge the Admiralty to adopt convoys as a method of
protecting merchant ships against submarine attack. The claimants for
this distinction are not confined to Great Britain; the great majority
of them are people without any knowledge of the sea and naval matters,
certainly none of them possessed any knowledge of the number of vessels
needed to afford protection to the ships under convoy, nor of the
vessels which we could produce for the purpose at the time.

Possibly the facts related above may serve to show that convoys were
commenced by Admiralty direction, and that they were started as soon as
and extended as rapidly as the necessary protecting vessels could be
provided. Those who argued then, or who have argued since, that we
should