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 department's permanent staff. Although not a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, he functioned as a member of the Board, and attended all its meetings.
History
The position was abolished on 1 November, 1877.[1] It was replaced by that of Naval Secretary to the Board of Admiralty,[2] which it had run parallel to since 1872, but was re-introduced by Order in Council in 1882.[3] The office of Naval Secretary was abolished on 8 May.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]
Secretary's Department
The Permanent Secretary was assisted by an Assistant Secretary (not a Deputy Secretary,[7] which post didn't exist until 1920), whose duties were defined in March, 1913, as:
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.[8]
Permanent Secretaries
- Captain George Tryon, 13 June, 1882[9]
- Sir Evan MacGregor, 2 April, 1884[10]
- Sir C. Inigo Thomas, 1 April, 1907[11]
- Sir W. Graham Greene, 2 October, 1911[12]
- Sir Oswyn A. R. Murray, 7 August, 1917[13] – 1936
Assistant Secretaries
- Richard D. Awdry, 1885
- Henry J. Van Sittart Neale, 1896
- C. Inigo Thomas, 1902
- Sir W. Graham Greene, 1907
- Sir Oswyn A. R. Murray, 1911
- Charles Walker, 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.
Footnotes
- ↑ 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. p. 39. Tudor Papers. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. King's College London. Tudor 1.
- ↑ The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 13.
- ↑ The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 22.
- ↑ 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. p. 40. Tudor Papers. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. King's College London. Tudor 1.
- ↑ The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 22.
- ↑ 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. p. 41. Tudor Papers. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. King's College London. Tudor 1.
- ↑ Rodger. The Admiralty. p. 138.
- ↑ Official Rules and Procedure. p. 2. Copy in Greene Papers. National Maritime Museum. GEE/2.
- ↑ 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. p. 41. Tudor Papers. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. King's College London. Tudor 1.
- ↑ The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 120.
- ↑ The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 120.
- ↑ The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 120.
- ↑ The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 81.
Bibliography
- 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.
