( January 1912-May 1913)

THROUGH the early months of 1912 the new First Lord was
making constant visits to the naval units in home waters,
and Marsh was often with him on board the Enchantress,
the Admiralty yacht which was used exclusively for Mr. Churchill's
tours of inspection. Not the least of Marsh's responsibilities was
his function as unofficial liaison between the First Lord and
Admiral Fisher, at present in retirement, who had taken him into
his confidence and was counting on him to second his letters to
Mr. Churchill with verbal support. At first the main topic in
their correspondence was the making of new appointments in the
rapidly expanding Navy. A note from Lord Fisher on February 2
shows that so far Marsh's efforts as an intermediary had been
successful. 'My beloved Marsh, Heaven bless you and the Prime
Minister and every other damned soul.' Later in the year Marsh
was a guest at Kilverstone Hall, Norfolk, where Fisher succeeded
in engaging his support in his campaign for the introduction of oil
fuel, which was soon to revolutionize the Navy. 'You will just
love the river here and the roses and the cook' was Fisher's induce-
ment for the week-end. By October the oil question had become
urgent, and on October 4 Fisher sent Marsh a memorandum
A New Navy: Why Coal Must Go, Why the Internal Combustion Engine
is Vital and supported it with a characteristically fervent note.

The enclosed written for some of our faltering colleagues may amuse
you. Don't send it to the Daily Mail. It's written currente calamo as you
will observe. On Nov. 26, 1910, every newspaper in America
reported at length my words that the nation which first adopted
Internal Combustion Propulsion would sweep the board com-
mercially as well as pugnaciously! And I told them I had so said
more than 10 years previously -- not a single English newspaper put
it in their columns except W. T. Stead in the Review of Reviews at the
same time that I told them I had dined tête à tête with Woodrow

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