Archibald Berkeley Milne Admiral Sir ( Archibald ) Berkeley Milne , 2nd Baronet GCVO KCB ( 2 June 1855 – 4 July 1938 ) was a senior Royal Navy officer who commanded the Mediterranean Fleet at the outbreak of the First World War . Naval career . Milne was the son of distinguished admiral , Sir Alexander Milne , 1st Baronet , and grandson of Vice - Admiral Sir David Milne . In 1879 he became aide - de - camp to Lord Chelmsford during the Zulu War s , being fortunate enough to have been separated from the main army at the time of the massacre of British forces at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 . In 1891 with the rank of captain he accepted command of HMY " Osborne " , despite the normal rank for the officer in charge of such a ship being only ' commander ' . While some officers only accepted short postings to royal yachts , fearing the effect on their careers of sinecure postings , Milne regarded it as a career path to flag rank . In 1900 he held a regular command of the cruiser " Venus " , which served on the Mediterranean Station . He was back in royal service when he became flag officer commanding H . M . Yachts from 1903 to 1905 , being promoted to Rear - Admiral in 1904 . During this time , he became a friend of King Edward VII and of Queen Alexandra , who called him " Arky - Barky " . His hobbies were described as collecting rare orchid s and entertaining royal ladies . Milne enjoyed the formal atmosphere of service in the royal squadron , with its emphasis on ceremony , spit and polish . His next posting was as second in command of the Atlantic Fleet until 1906 . From 1908 to 1910 Milne commanded the 2nd Division of the Home Fleet s . Milne was made a full Admiral in 1911 and made Commander - in - Chief , Mediterranean Fleet in November 1912 . The appointment was made by Winston Churchill , First Lord of the Admiralty , taking into consideration the views of the King George V . Admiral Fisher , former First Sea Lord deplored Milne ' s appointment to such an important post , accusing Churchill of having betrayed the navy . At the outset of the First World War , the Mediterranean Fleet consisted of three dreadnought battle cruisers , four large armoured cruisers , four light cruisers and 16 destroyers . The pursuit of " Goeben " and " Breslau " . On 4 August 1914 , after Germany had declared war on Russia and France but before Great Britain had declared war on Germany , he sent his two strongest battle cruisers , the HMS " Indomitable " and " Indefatigable " , to seek out ( as ordered ) Germany ' s only two ships in the Mediterranean , the SMS " Goeben " and " Breslau " , under the command of Admiral Wilhelm Souchon . The ships met as the Germans were steaming back to Messina , Italy , to refuel after bombarding the French colonial ports of Philippeville and Bône , Algeria . The German ships steamed out of Messina harbour at midnight , 5 August , precisely as Britain officially went to war with Germany . They were headed for Turkey , to attempt to convince it to enter the war on Germany ' s side , by force if necessary . The heading surprised Admiral Milne who had expected them to steam west to the Straits of Gibraltar . He had only one ship , the light cruiser HMS " Gloucester " , in a position to follow them . The next morning ( 7 August ) , the " Gloucester " closed in and opened fire on the " Breslau " , which returned fire . " Breslau " was slightly damaged in the exchange receiving one hit at the waterline . Near the western coast of Greece , the pursuit of the " Goeben " and the " Breslau " was taken up by four more British ships , led by Milne ' s second - in - command , Rear - Admiral Sir Ernest Charles Thomas Troubridge . Troubridge ' s ships ( the cruisers , , and ) were smaller and slower than the " Goeben " ; they were also substantially outgunned , and essentially unarmoured . Troubridge and his gunnery officer determined they could not intercept the German ships before daylight . They concluded that the enemy battlecruiser ' s superior speed and range would allow it to maintain enough distance to pick off Toubridge ' s ships at leisure before they could ever get close enough to engage effectively . Souchon ' s ships made it to Constantinople and were admitted into the harbour by the Turks . The German diplomats reminded the Turks that Great Britain had recently broken a contract to supply two new battleships to the Turkish government ( which the British Admiralty had decided to keep for its own use as war loomed ) , and offered to sell them the " Goeben " and the " Breslau " . The Turks agreed on 16 August and eventually joined Germany ' s side on 30 October 1914 . The ships were renamed the " Yavuz Sultan Selim " and the " Midili " , retaining their German crews ; Souchon was made commander - in - chief of the Turkish Navy . Afterwards , Milne served out the rest of the war on half - pay . He was offered the three - year command at the Nore encompassing the ports of Chatham and Sheerness in 1916 , but the position eventually went to another officer due to " other exigencies " . The Admiralty repeatedly emphasised that Milne had been exonerated of all blame in the affair , most significantly when announcing Milne ' s retirement at his own request in 1919 , so as to further the promotion of other officers . In 1920 the official naval history of the war by Sir Julian Corbett was critical of Milne ' s handling of the affair and contained " serious inaccuracies " . Milne requested the Admiralty to act which they declined to do so , and in 1921 Milne wrote " The Flight of the " Goeben " and the " Breslau in an attempt to clear his name , which " justified the official approbation " .