Britiannia Bides Her Time., Alick P. F. ritchie, The Bystander front cover, 19th August 1914. In 1914, Britannia really did rule the waves, and it was widely expected that the outcome of any forthcoming conflict would be decided at sea. But like so many aspects of the war, the reality did not comply with expectations. An editorial in "The Graphic" confirmed British confidence in her naval superiority, commenting on the absence of incident in the early weeks as "...a very striking tribute to the adequacy and efficacy of the British navy... At any instant we must be prepared to hear the desperate dash of the German ships to sea - desperate because we hold the ocean with such superiority that, baring miracles, the defeat and the annihilation of the German navy is a foregone conclusion." A profile of Ritche in "The Strand" Magazine likened his style to "sly travesties of the cubists, the Futurists, and other eccentric products of the modern movement" and his "Puck-like gift of freakishness" resulted in a variety of satirical styles.