Additional Civil Lord of the Admiralty

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The Additional Civil Lord of the Admiralty was a member of the Board of Admiralty from 1882 to 1885 and 1912 to 1919. The office was held by a person who was neither a naval officer nor a politician.

1882 Creation

On 14 April, 1882, George W. Rendel, a noted civil engineer with Elswick Ordnance Company and the Armstrong shipbuilding concern, was appointed as an Additional Civil Lord on the Board of Admiralty. It has been claimed that "Parliament established" this appointment.[1] This is completely untrue, and was in fact a government measure. Whilst it has been claimed that ill health alone prompted his retirement from the position in 1885,[2] the fact that there had been a change of government and a customary change of Board as a result makes this claim partially suspect. That his brother was a Liberal politician, and his niece married to Gladstone's son, likely made his position untenable.

1912 Creation

The Prime Minister, Herbert H. Asquith, wrote to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill on 26 December, 1911:

As there is no present prospect of other provision being made for Lambert, your new man will have to be an Additional Civil Lord. I do not know whether this necessitates an Order in Council, but it would be well to obtain the King's consent. Hopwood, of course, is the best man for the job, but you should be careful to get Ll. George's concurrence (as he is sensitive about the Development Commee) and to arrange with the Treasury as to fixing the rate of H's salary, which I assume will be personal to himself.[3]

Duties

Additional, or Second, Civil Lords

Office lapsed, 31 March, 1919.[9]

Third Civil Lord

Footnotes

  1. Walker. Ships and Shipbuilders. p. 147.
  2. Lane. "Rendel, George Wightwick." The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
  3. Asquith to Churchill. Letter of 26 December, 1911. Churchill Papers. CHAR 13/1/58.
  4. "Distribution of Business" in docket "Distribution of Business: Board of Admiralty" dated 24 April, 1882. The National Archives. ADM 1/6330.
  5. "The Board of Admiralty. Distribution of Business." Copy in Greene Papers. National Maritime Museum. GEE/2. pp. 4-5.
  6. "The Board of Admiralty. Distribution of Business." Copy in Greene Papers. National Maritime Museum. GEE/2. p. 4. Also the same for 14 February, 1917.
  7. A List of the Lords High Admiral and Commissioners for executing that Office, which have been from time to time appointed, since the year 1660. pp. 40-41.
  8. The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 127.
  9. The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 127.
  10. The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 126.

Bibliography

  • Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division (1929). The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. Its Work and Development. B.R. 1845 (late C.B. 3013). Copy No. 8 at The National Archives. ADM 234/434.


Admiralty Seal.jpg
Board of Admiralty
Political Lords Commissioners
 • First Lord of the Admiralty
 • Civil Lord of the Admiralty
 • Fourth Civil Lord (1918 – 1919)
Naval Lords Commissioners
 • First Naval Lord (– 1904) • First Sea Lord (1904 – 1917) • First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff (1917 –)
 • Second Naval Lord (– 1869, 1872 – 1904) • Second Sea Lord (1904 – 1917) • Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel (1917 –)
 • Third Naval Lord (– 1869) • Third Lord and Controller (1869 – 1872) • Third Naval Lord and Controller of the Navy (1882 – 1904) • Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy (1904 – 1912) • Third Sea Lord (1912 – 1917) • Third Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Matériel (1917 – 1918) • Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy (1918 –)
 • Junior Naval Lord (– 1904) • Fourth Sea Lord (1907 – 1917) • Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Supplies and Transport (1917 –)
 • Fifth Sea Lord (1917) • Fifth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Air Service (1917 – 1918)
 • Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (1917 – 1940)
 • Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (1917 – 1929)
 • Deputy First Sea Lord (1917 – 1919)
Civil Lords Commissioners
 • Additional Civil Lord of the Admiralty (1882 – 1885, 1912 – 1919)
 • Third Civil Lord (1918 – 1919)
 • Controller (1917 – 1918)
Secretaries to the Board
 • First Secretary to the Board of Admiralty (– 1869) • Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Admiralty (1869 – 1904) • Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty (1904 –)
 • Additional Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Admiralty (1917 – 1918)
 • Second Secretary to the Board of Admiralty (– 1869) • Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty (1869 – 1877, 1880 –)
 • Naval Secretary to the Board of Admiralty (1872 – 1882)