staff, being civilians, refused, and Evan-Thomas sacked them. Matters got into the press and the visit was cancelled, although this coincided with the national strike and the matter disappeared from public attention. In July 1912 Evan-Thomas was promoted to Rear-Admiral, not for any particular service but because it was his turn as the next most senior officer. He served on a committee, went on a training course, and then awaited a new command on half pay. In December 1913 he was appointed second in command of the first battle squadron of the Home fleet. Whether this appointment was encouraged by the king is uncertain, although royal intervention was certainly used to assist other naval officers at this time. Evan-Thomas record of achievement was sufficient in its own right to merit the appointment. World War I Evan-Thomas' next appointment in October 1915 was as commander of the 5th Battle Squadron, which consisted of the five newly completed Queen Elizabeth-class fast battleships, arguably the most powerful ships afloat at that time. was chosen as flagship for the admiral. The 15 inch gun ships, capable of 24 knots, formed a fast division attached to the Grand Fleet, complementing the fast battlecruiser squadron which normally served in a detached scouting role. The posting was considered prestigious. It is likely that the choice of Evan-Thomas for the post was influenced by his previous friendship with Admiral Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet but also by Jellicoe's concerns not to appoint an officer to the post who might be too independent of mind. The appointment was likely also to be acceptable to Admiral Beatty, commanding the battlecruisers, since he had seniority over Evan-Thomas and would command in any joint operation. Although the Queen Elizabeths were slightly slower than the battlecruisers, Beatty continued for some time to campaign that they should be permanently attached to his command as the fast division of the fleet. On 12 May 1916, a meeting took place at Rosyth between Jellicoe, Beatty and First Sea Lord Jackson to discuss the future of the battlecruiser fleet. Australia was out of action following a collision with , while it was decided that the three ships of the 3rd Battle Cruiser Squadron should be sent to Scapa Flow to practice gunnery, following reports of poor gunnery for all the battlecruisers, at least partly due to the lack of a practice range at Rosyth. It was