The Naval Secretary was an officer destined to get to the very top—detailed for two years or so to look after promotion to Captain and Flag rank in the Royal Navy and, in the course of doing so, to look after a civilian First Lord, almost invariably ignorant of naval tradition and likely, particularly when visiting the Fleet, to make mistakes of so fundamental and tasteless a character that it would call into question not just the credibility of the Government but our political institutions. For two years Admiral Twiss—quick witted, nimble and tireless—prevented this ex-First Lord from making too much of a fool of himself. In the course of those two years, which I for one greatly enjoyed and during which we travelled a great deal and laughed a great deal, I came to recognize the quality which his senior officers saw in him and which was to serve the Royal Navy and your Lordships' House so well. He did indeed rise to the top of the Royal Navy, despite an occasion which I remember when cruising with him in HMS Tiger. Anxious to show off the skill of his ship's gunnery in front of an old First Lord, he made the unpardonable error of shooting down a very expensive target aircraft, to the cheers of the ship's company but to a stinging rebuke from their Lordships of the Admiralty. I am glad to say that he responded that, since for 30 years he had been trying to hit a target and failed, he could not quite understand the attitude of their Lordships.[4]
^Twiss, Frank (28 November 1996), Bailey, Chris Howard (ed.), Social Change in the Royal Navy 1924–70 (1 ed.), Sutton Publishing Ltd, p. unknown, ISBN0750906103