Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty

The Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty (widely referred to as the "Secretary of the Admiralty") was the senior civil servant at the Admiralty, the department of state responsible for the administration of the Royal Navy. He was the head of the Secretary's Department. Although not a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, he functioned as a member of the Board, and attended all of its meetings.

History

Under the Order in Council of 14 January, 1869, the Second Secretary, now designated Permanent Secretary, was given "exclusive charge of the Secretariat, under the directions of the First Lord of the Admiralty." His salary was fixed at £1,500 per annum.

The position was abolished on 1 November, 1877. It was replaced by that of Naval Secretary to the Board of Admiralty, which it had run parallel to since 1872, but was re-introduced by Order in Council in 1882 with a salary of £1,800 a year and a house, or an allowance of £200 a year in lieu of a house. The office of Naval Secretary was abolished on 8 May. Mr. Robert G. C. Hamilton, Accountant-General of the Navy, was appointed Permanent Secretary on the same day, but was appointed Under-Secretary to the Chief Secretary for Ireland immediately following the Phoenix Park Murders on 6 May. Vice-Admiral Robert Hall, who had just relinquished the office of Naval Secretary, was temporarily appointed Permanent Secretary on 15 May. Admiral Hall died on 11 June, and Captain George Tryon was appointed Permanent Secretary on 13 June, also in a temporary capacity. However, he held the post until succeeded by Evan MacGregor on 2 April, 1884.

Duties

21 June, 1844.
Whilst the 2nd Secretary more immediately superintends the correct execution of their Lordships' orders, & the official duties of the Department.

December, 1868.
Correspondence.
Discipline of the Office, Whitehall.

December, 1872.
Discipline of the Office.
Contagious Diseases.
Correspondence on:— Legal matters and Civilian questions. Courts Martial, as regard legal questions and interpretations. Salvage Cases and Collisions as regard legal points. With other Departments of Government, on questions involving legal matters and details. On matters relating to purchase and sale of Stores. On Prize questions and collisions in their legal aspect. Revision of Circulars, draft Orders in Council, and regulations generally.

April, 1875.
Discipline of the Office.
Promotions and removals in Naval Department, Whitehall.
Contagious Diseases.
Correspondence on:— Legal matters and Civilian questions. Courts Martial, as regard legal questions and interpretations. Salvage Cases and Collisions as regard legal points. With other Departments of Government, on questions involving legal matters and details. On Prize questions and collisions in their legal aspect. Revision of Circulars, draft Orders in Council, and regulations generally.

December, 1888.
1. Discipline of the various Departments of the Admiralty.
2. Recommendations for Appointments and Promotions in the Admiralty Office.
3. Correspondence.
4. Foreign Naval Attachés—Communications with.
5. Lock Wards in Hospitals receiving assistance from Admiralty.
6. Appointment of Messengers.
NOTE. Routine Papers, as defined below, will be disposed of by the Permanent Secretary:— (a) Such as require immediate action or reference to render them sufficiently complete for decision by the Board. (b) Such as do not involve some new principle , establish a precedent, or occasion expense not provided for under existing Regulations. (c) Such as do not involve any point of discipline, or affect the movements of or orders to a Ship.

Assistant Secretary

The Permanent Secretary was assisted by an Assistant Secretary (not a Deputy Secretary, which post didn't exist until after the First World War), whose duties were defined in March, 1913, as follows:

The Assistant Secretary acts for the Permanent Secretary in his absence and relieves him of such part of his ordinary duties as the Permanent Secretary may assign to him, the Permanent Secretary continuing to be responsible to the Board. He is responsible for the detailed supervision of the departmental organisation for war, and in this capacity is connected with the Admiralty War Staff, and attends and acts as Secretary at the periodical Staff Meetings. He exercises a general supervision over the Secretary's Department, under the direction of the Permanent Secretary. He also has general charge of office arrangements, including the allocation of accommodation and the superintendence of the Messenger Staff.

Permanent Secretaries

• R. G. C. Hamilton, 8 May, 1882
• Vice-Admiral Robert Hall, 15 May, 1882  (temporarily)
• Rear-Admiral George Tryon, 13 June, 1882 – 31 March, 1884
• Sir Evan MacGregor, 2 April, 1884
• Sir C. Inigo Thomas, 1 April, 1907
• Sir W. Graham Greene, 2 October, 1911
• Sir Oswyn A. R. Murray, 7 July, 1917 – 1936

Assistant Secretaries

• Edwin N. Swainson, 1880
• Richard D. Awdry, 1885
• Henry J. Van Sittart Neale, 1896
• C. Inigo Thomas, 1902
• Sir W. Graham Greene, 1907 – 1911
• Sir Oswyn A. R. Murray, 1911 – September, 1917
• Charles Walker, September, 1917
• John W. S. Anderson, 1918

Assistant Secretary for Finance Duties

• Vincent W. Baddeley, 1911 – 1920.

Acting Assistant Secretary (C)

• Robert R. Scott, 1917 – 1920.

Acting Staff Assistant Secretary

• John W. S. Anderson, 1917 – 1918.
• Walter F. Nicholson, 1918 – 1920.

Temporary and Additional Secretary

• R. Francis Dunnell, 1917 – 1919.

See Also

• Secretary's Department

Bibliography

• "Return "of the Distribution of Business under the Lords of the Admiralty under the Old and New Arrangement for conducting the business of the Department."" H.C. 84, 1869. Copies in Greene and Milne Papers. National Maritime Museum. GEE/2 and MLN/146/1.
• Black, Nicholas (2009). The British Naval Staff in the First World War. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. ISBN 9781843834427.
• Hamilton, C. I. (2011). The Making of the Modern Admiralty: British Naval Policy-Making, 1805-1927. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521765183. (on Amazon.co.uk).
• 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.
• Rodger, N. A. M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: Terence Dalton Limited. ISBN 0900963948.