In March 1909, following a Royal Navy re-organisation, the Channel Fleet was absorbed by the Home Fleet. The ships in home waters, including the former Channel Fleet, then became the Home Fleet's First and Second Divisions.[3] The former Home Fleet as it then stood became the Third and Fourth Divisions, which was actually a single formation under a vice-admiral.[4] These new divisions was made up of an 8-12 ship battle squadron that included either dreadnought battleships or pre-dreadnought battleships.[5] Within the Home Fleet there were two levels of availability - the ships of the 1st and 2nd Divisions which were fully operational, and those of the 3rd and 4th divisions that were either in reserve or partially manned.[6]
Friedman, Norman (2014). Fighting the Great War at Sea: Strategy, Tactic and Technology. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN9781473849709.
Mackie, Gordon. "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com. Gordon Mackie, p. 199. December 2017.
Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployments 1900-1914". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.
Further reading
Marder, Arthur J. (2013) [1961]. From Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: The Royal Navy in the Fisher Era. Vol. I: The Road to War 1904–1914. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN9781-59114-259-1.