appointments were held concurrently). The office was not always filled: for example, James II and William III both functioned themselves as Commander-in-Chief; at other times the appointment simply lapsed (especially if there was no perceived immediate military threat). With the appointment of General Lord Jeffrey Amherst in 1793, the Commander-in-Chief was given authority over matters of discipline, over supplies, training and promotions in the British Army. The establishment of a military staff took place under the oversight of his successor, Frederick, Duke of York. In most instances, Commanders-in-Chief of the Forces were not Cabinet members (only Conway and Wellington had a seat in Cabinet by virtue of holding this office; Ligonier and Granby were also in Cabinet during their time in office, but in both cases sat as Master-General of the Ordnance). Instead, the British Army was represented variously and tenuously in government by the Paymaster of the Forces (Paymaster General from 1836), the Master-General of the Ordnance (who did not invariably have a seat in Cabinet), the Secretary at War (who was not usually a member of the Cabinet) and (from 1794) the Secretary of State for War. With the demise of the Board of Ordnance in the wake of the Crimean War the Commander-in-Chief assumed command of the Ordnance troops: the Royal Regiment of Artillery and the Corps of Royal Engineers. The momentum of reform at this time, however, was toward increasing the authority of the Secretary of State for War. From the passing of the War Office Act 1870, as part of the Cardwell Reforms, the Commander-in-Chief was made clearly subordinate to the Secretary of State, to serve as the latter's principal military adviser, and was made to move out of his traditional office above the arch at Horse Guards and into the War Office. Nevertheless, in 1888 he is still described as having responsibility for all personnel and matériel issues for the army and auxiliary forces, and in 1895 he took on the responsibilities of chief of staff. The appointment of Commander-in-Chief remained in the personal gift of the monarch, and its independence was guarded by Queen Victoria (among others) as emblematic of the notion that command of the Army was vested in the Crown; during her reign, however, the office was (in 1870) made much more clearly subordinate to the Secretary of State for War (and to Parliament). Following the recommendations of the Esher Report,