He became First Sea Lord in November 1911 but clashed with First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill on technical issues as well as matters relating to a perceived overriding of naval traditions by Churchill: this led to Bridgeman's resignation just a year later.
In November 1911, he became First Sea Lord; however, he disagreed with Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, over both technical and traditional matters. This disagreement resulted in Bridgeman's resignation from his position just one year later.