First Lord of the Admiralty
Introduction The '''First Lord of the Admiralty''', or formally the '''Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty''', was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the direction and control of the Admiralty, and also of general administration of the Naval Service of the Kingdom of England, Great Britain in the 18th century, and then the United Kingdom, including the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, and other services. It was one of the earliest known permanent government posts. Apart from being the political head of the Naval Service the post holder was simultaneously the pre-eminent member of the Board of Admiralty. The office of First Lord of the Admiralty existed from 1628 until it was abolished when the Admiralty, Air Ministry, Ministry of Defence and War Office were all merged to form the new Ministry of Defence in 1964.Its modern-day equivalent is the Secretary of State for Defence.
History In 1628, during the reign of , George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, Lord High Admiral of England, was assassinated and the office was placed in commission, under the control of a Board of Commissioners.The first such First Lord of the Admiralty was Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland, who was appointed in 1628.The First Lord was not always a permanent member of the board until the Admiralty Department was established as an official government department in 1709 with the First Lord as its head; it replaced the earlier '''Office of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs'''. During most of the 17th century and the early 18th century, it was not invariable for the Admiralty to be in commission, so there are gaps in the list of First Lords, and a small number of First Lords were for a time Lord High Admiral.After the Revolution, in 1690, a declaratory Act was passed, during the reign of William and Mary. Parliament passed the Admiralty Act, vesting in the Commissioners the powers formerly held by the Lord High Admiral of England. and at this point became a permanent Cabinet position.The Admiralty Commission was dissolved in 1701, but was reconstituted in 1709 on the death of Prince George of Denmark, who had been appointed Lord High Admiral. The office has been held in commission from that time onwards, however, except for a short period (1827–28) when the Duke of Clarence was Lord High Admiral. The Board of the Admiralty comprised a number of "Lords Commissioners" headed by a First Lord.From the early 1800s the post was always held by a civilian (previously flag officers of the Royal Navy also held the post). In 1832 First Lord Sir James Graham instituted reforms and amalgamated the Board of Admiralty and the Navy Board. By the provisions of the Admiralty Act of 1832, two Lords in committee could legalise any action of the Board.In 1868 Prime Minister, William Gladstone appointed Hugh Childers First Lord, who would introduce a new system at the Admiralty. However these changes restricted communication between the board members who were affected by these new regulations, and the sittings of the Board were discontinued altogether. This situation described was further exacerbated by the disaster of  in 1870, a poorly-designed new vessel for the navy.The responsibility and powers of the First Lord of the Admiralty were laid down by an Order in Council dated 14 January 1869, and a later Order (19 March 1872) made the First Lord responsible to the Sovereign and to Parliament for all the business of the Admiralty. However, by describing the Lords of the Admiralty as the "assistants" of the First Lord, and by specifically defining their duties, this had, in fact, partially disabled the collective power of the Board.In 1931, for the first time since 1709, the First Lord was not a member of the cabinet.In 1946, the three posts of Secretary of State for War, First Lord of the Admiralty, and Secretary of State for Air became formally subordinated to that of Minister of Defence, which had itself been created in 1940 for the co-ordination of defence and security issues.In 1964, the office of First Lord of the Admiralty was abolished, the last holder being the second Earl Jellicoe, whose father, Admiral of the Fleet the first Earl Jellicoe, had served as First Sea Lord nearly 50 years earlier. The functions of the Lords Commissioners were then transferred to an Admiralty Board, which forms part of the tri-service Defence Council of the United Kingdom.
List of First Lords of the Admiralty === First Lords of the Admiralty of England (1628–1701) === First Lord of the Admiralty Term of office 75px Richard Weston1st '''Earl of Portland''' 1628 1635 75px Robert Bertie1st '''Earl of Lindsey''' 1635 1636 75px '''William Juxon''' 1636 1638 75px Algernon Percy10th '''Earl of Northumberland''' 1642 1643 75px Francis Cottington1st '''Baron Cottington''' 1643 1646 75px Prince '''Rupert of the Rhine''' 1673 1679 75px Sir '''Henry Capell''' 1679 1681 75px Daniel Finch2nd '''Earl of Nottingham''' 1681 1684 75px Arthur Herbert1st '''Earl of Torrington''' 1689 1690 75px Thomas Herbert8th '''Earl of Pembroke''' 1690 1692 75px Charles Cornwallis3rd '''Baron Cornwallis''' 1692 1693 75px Anthony Cary5th '''Viscount Falkland''' 1693 1694 75px Edward Russell1st '''Earl of Orford''' 1694 1699 75px John Egerton3rd '''Earl of Bridgewater''' 1699 1701 75px Thomas Herbert8th '''Earl of Pembroke''' 1701 1702=== Senior Members of the Lord High Admiral's Council (1702–1709) === Senior Member Term of office 75px '''Sir George Rooke''' 1702 1705 75px '''Sir David Mitchell''' 1705 1708 75px David Wemyss4th '''Earl of Wemyss''' 1708 1709=== First Lords of the Admiralty of Great Britain (1709–1801) === First Lord of the Admiralty Term of office Ministry Monarch 75px Edward Russell1st '''Earl of Orford''' 1709 1710 Godolphin–Marlborough '''Anne'''60px 75px '''John Leake''' 1710 1712 Oxford–Bolingbroke 75px Thomas Wentworth1st '''Earl of Strafford''' 1712 1714 '''George I'''60px 75px Edward Russell1st '''Earl of Orford''' 1714 1716 Townshend 75px James Berkeley3rd '''Earl of Berkeley''' 1717 1727 Stanhope–Sunderland I Stanhope–Sunderland II Walpole–Townshend '''George II'''60px 75px George Byng1st '''Viscount Torrington''' 1727 1733 Walpole 75px '''Charles Wager''' 1733 1741 75px Daniel Finch8th '''Earl of Winchilsea''' 1741 1744 Carteret 75px John Russell4th '''Duke of Bedford''' 1744 1748 Broad Bottom 75px John Montagu4th '''Earl of Sandwich''' 1748 1751 75px George Anson1st '''Baron Anson''' 1751 1756 Newcastle I 75px Richard Grenville-Temple2nd '''Earl Temple''' 1756 1757 Pitt–Devonshire 75px Daniel Finch8th '''Earl of Winchilsea''' 1757 1757 1757 Caretaker 75px George Anson1st '''Baron Anson''' 1757 1762 Pitt–Newcastle '''George III'''60px 75px George Montague-Dunk2nd '''Earl of Halifax''' 1762 1762 Bute 75px '''George Grenville''' 1762 1763 75px John Montagu4th '''Earl of Sandwich''' 1763 1763 Grenville 75px John Perceval2nd '''Earl of Egmont''' 1763 1766 Rockingham I Chatham 75px '''Charles Saunders''' 1766 1766 75px '''Edward Hawke''' 1766 1771 Grafton North 75px John Montagu4th '''Earl of Sandwich''' 1771 1782 75px Augustus Keppel1st '''Viscount Keppel''' 1782 1783 Rockingham II Shelburne 75px Richard Howe5th '''Viscount Howe''' 1783 1783 75px Augustus Keppel1st '''Viscount Keppel''' 1783 1783 Fox–North 75px Richard Howe5th '''Viscount Howe''' 1783 1788 Pitt I 75px John Pitt2nd '''Earl of Chatham''' 1788 1794 75px George Spencer2nd '''Earl Spencer''' 1794 1801=== First Lords of the Admiralty of the United Kingdom (1801–1964) === First Lord of the Admiralty Term of office Party Ministry Monarch 75px John Jervis1st '''Earl of St Vincent''' 1801 1804 Whig Pitt I '''George III'''60px Addington 75px Henry Dundas1st '''Viscount Melville''' 1804 1805 Tory Pitt II 75px Charles Middleton1st '''Baron Barham''' 1805 1806 Tory 75px Charles Grey'''Viscount Howick''' 1806 1806 Whig All the Talents 75px '''Thomas Grenville''' 1806 1807 Whig 75px Henry Phipps3rd '''Baron Mulgrave''' 1807 1810 Tory Portland II Perceval 75px '''Charles Philip Yorke''' 1810 1812 Tory 75px Robert Dundas2nd '''Viscount Melville''' 1812 1827 Tory Liverpool '''George IV'''60px 75px Prince William Henry'''Duke of Clarence''' ''1827'' ''1828'' — Canning Goderich 75px Robert Dundas2nd '''Viscount Melville''' 1828 1830 Tory WellingtonPeel '''William IV'''60px 75px '''James Graham''' 1830 1834 Whig Grey 75px George Eden2nd '''Baron Auckland''' 1834 1834 Whig Melbourne I Wellington Caretaker 75px Thomas Robinson2nd '''Earl de Grey''' 1834 1835 Conservative Peel I 75px George Eden2nd '''Baron Auckland''' 1835 1835 Whig Melbourne II 75px Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound2nd '''Earl of Minto''' 1835 1841 Whig '''Victoria'''60px 75px Thomas Hamilton9th '''Earl of Haddington''' 1841 1846 Conservative Peel II 75px Edward Law1st '''Earl of Ellenborough''' 1846 1846 Conservative 75px George Eden1st '''Earl of Auckland''' 1846 1849 Whig Russell I 75px '''Francis Baring''' 1849 1852 Whig 75px Algernon Percy4th '''Duke of Northumberland''' 1852 1852 Conservative Who? Who? 75px '''James Graham''' 1852 1855 Peelite Aberdeen Palmerston I 75px '''Charles Wood'''Bt GCB 1855 1858 Whig 75px '''John Pakington''' 1858 1859 Conservative DerbyDisraeli II 75px Edward Seymour12th '''Duke of Somerset''' 1859 1866 Liberal Palmerston II Russell II 75px '''John Pakington''' 1866 1867 Conservative DerbyDisraeli III 75px '''Henry Lowry-Corry''' 1867 1868 Conservative 75px '''Hugh Childers''' 1868 1871 Liberal Gladstone I 75px '''George Goschen''' 1871 1874 Liberal 75px '''George Ward Hunt''' 1874 1877 Conservative Disraeli II 75px '''William Henry Smith''' 1877 1880 Conservative 75px Thomas Baring1st '''Earl of Northbrook''' 1880 1885 Liberal Gladstone II 75px Lord '''George Hamilton''' 1885 1886 Conservative Salisbury I 75px George Robinson1st '''Marquess of Ripon''' 1886 1886 Liberal Gladstone III 75px Lord '''George Hamilton''' 1886 1892 Conservative Salisbury II 75px John Spencer5th '''Earl Spencer''' 1892 1895 Liberal Gladstone IV Rosebery 75px '''George Goschen''' 1895 1900 Conservative Salisbury 75px William Palmer2nd '''Earl of Selborne''' 1900 1905 Liberal Unionist '''Edward VII'''60px Balfour 75px Frederick Campbell3rd '''Earl Cawdor''' 1905 1905 Conservative 75px Edward Marjoribanks2nd '''Lord Tweedmouth''' 1905 1908 Liberal Campbell-Bannerman 75px '''Reginald McKenna''' 1908 1911 Liberal Asquith '''George V'''60px 75px '''Winston Churchill''' 1911 1915 Liberal 75px '''Arthur Balfour''' 1915 1916 Conservative Asquith Coalition 75px '''Edward Carson''' 1916 1917 Conservative Lloyd George 75px '''Eric Geddes''' 1917 1919 Conservative 75px '''Walter Long''' 1919 1921 Conservative 75px Arthur Lee1st '''Baron Lee of Fareham''' 1921 1922 Conservative 75px '''Leo Amery''' 1922 1924 Conservative Law Baldwin I 75px Frederic Thesiger1st '''Viscount Chelmsford''' 1924 1924 Independent MacDonald I 75px '''William Clive Bridgeman''' 1924 1929 Conservative Baldwin II 75px '''A. V. Alexander''' 1929 1931 Labour MacDonald II 75px '''Austen Chamberlain''' 1931 1931 Conservative National I 75px Bolton Eyres-Monsell1st '''Viscount Monsell''' 1931 1936 Conservative National II National III '''Edward VIII'''60px 75px '''Samuel Hoare''' 1936 1937 Conservative '''George VI'''60px 75px '''Duff Cooper''' 1937 1938 Conservative National IV 75px James Stanhope7th '''Earl Stanhope''' 1938 1939 Conservative 75px '''Winston Churchill''' 1939 1940 Conservative Chamberlain War 75px '''A. V. Alexander''' 1940 1945 Labour Churchill War 75px '''Brendan Bracken''' 1945 1945 Conservative Churchill Caretaker 75px '''A. V. Alexander''' 1945 1946 Labour Attlee 75px George Hall1st '''Viscount Hall''' 1946 1951 Labour 75px Frank Pakenham1st '''Baron Pakenham''' 1951 1951 Labour 75px James Thomas1st '''Viscount Cilcennin''' 1951 1956 Conservative Churchill III '''Elizabeth II'''60px Eden 75px Quintin Hogg2nd '''Viscount Hailsham''' 1956 1957 Conservative 75px George Douglas-Hamilton10th '''Earl of Selkirk''' 1957 1959 Conservative Macmillan 75px Peter Carington6th '''Baron Carrington''' 1959 1963 Conservative 75px George Jellicoe2nd '''Earl Jellicoe''' 1963 1964 Conservative Douglas-HomeFrom 1 April 1964 Elizabeth II assumed the title of Lord High Admiral. Ministerial responsibility for the Royal Navy was transferred to the newly created Secretary of State for Defence. '''Notes:'''
Boards, departments and offices under the First Lord * Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office, (1628–1709)* Admiralty Department, (1709–1964)* Board of Admiralty, (1628–1964)* Navy Board, (1628–1832)* Sick and Hurt Board, (1653–1806)* Transport Board, (1690–1724, 1794–1817)* Victualling Board, (1683–1832)* Office of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty* Office of the Senior Naval Lord, (1689–1771)* Office of the First Naval Lord, (1771–1904)* Office of the First Sea Lord, (1904–1917)* Office of the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, (1917–1964)* Office of the Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty, (1800–1910)* Office of the Naval Secretary, (1910–1964)* Office of the Secretary to the Admiralty, (1660–1763)* Office of the First Secretary to the Admiralty, (1763–1871)* Office of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, (1871–1886)* Office of the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty, (1886–1959)* Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty, (1882–1964)
Fictional First Lords W. H. Smith portrayed in a ''Punch'' cartoon from 13 October 1877 when First Lord, saying: "I think I'll now go below." In ''Pinafore'', Sir Joseph Porter similarly sings: "When the breezes blow / I generally go below".The "Radical" First Lord, and a major character, in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' (1878), is Sir Joseph Henry Porter, KCB. W. S. Gilbert wrote to Arthur Sullivan he did not intend to portray the real-life then First Lord, the bookseller and newsagent W. H. Smith, a Conservative, although some of the public, including Prime Minister Disraeli (who later referred to Smith as "Pinafore Smith"), identified Porter with him. The counterparts shared a known lack of naval background. It has been suggested the character was drawn on Smith's actual "Radical" predecessor of 1868–71, Hugh Childers.
References === Attribution ===* This article contains some text from: Vesey, Richard Sir, Admiral, (1896), ''Naval Administration: The Constitution, Character, and Functions of the Board of Admiralty, and of the Civil Departments it Directs, George Bell and Sons, London''.
Sources * Bell, Christopher M. "Sir John Fisher's Naval Revolution Reconsidered: Winston Churchill at the Admiralty, 1911–1914." ''War in History'' 18.3 (2011): 333–356.online* Hamilton, C. I. (2011). ''The Making of the Modern Admiralty: British Naval Policy-Making, 1805–1927''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . * Rodger, N. A. M., ''The Admiralty'' (Lavenham, 1979)* Sainty, J. C. ''Admiralty Officials, 1660–1870'' (London, 1975)