First Lord of the Admiralty

First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of 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 Charles I, 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 Glorious Revolution, during the reign of William and Mary, Parliament passed the Admiralty Act 1690 (2 Will. & Mar. Sess. 2. c. 2), 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 1832 (2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 40), 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 George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe, whose father, Admiral of the Fleet John Jellicoe, 1st 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 Great Britain (1709–1801)

First Lord of the Admiralty		Term of office		Ministry	Monarch
File:Gibson, Edward Russell.jpg	Edward Russell 1st Earl of Orford	1709	1710	Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Godolphin–Marlborough (ToryTemplate:NdashWhig)	Anne File:Coat of Arms of England (1702-1707).svg
File:John Leake by Godfrey Kneller.jpg	Admiral of the Fleet John Leake MP for Rochester	1710	1712	rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Tories | Oxford–Bolingbroke
File:Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (1672-1739) Diplomat.jpg	Thomas Wentworth 1st Earl of Strafford	1712	1714
				George I File:Coat of Arms of Great Britain (1714-1801).svg
File:Gibson, Edward Russell.jpg	Edward Russell 1st Earl of Orford	1714	1716		Template:Party shading/Whigs | Townshend
File:3rdEarlOfBerkeley2.jpg	James Berkeley 3rd Earl of Berkeley	1717	1727		Template:Party shading/Whigs | Stanhope–Sunderland I
					Template:Party shading/Whigs | Stanhope–Sunderland II
					rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Walpole–Townshend
				George II File:Coat of Arms of Great Britain (1714-1801).svg
File:George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington by Jeremiah Davison.jpg	George Byng 1st Viscount Torrington	1727	1733
					rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Walpole
File:Portrait of Admiral Sir Charles Wager (by Thomas Gibson).jpg	Charles Wager MP for Westminster	1733	1741
File:Daniel Finch (1689-1769), 8th Earl of Winchilsea, 3rd Earl of Nottingham, by Thomas Worlidge.jpg	Daniel Finch 8th Earl of Winchilsea	1741	1744
					Template:Party shading/Whigs | Carteret
File:4thDukeOfBedford.jpg	John Russell 4th Duke of Bedford	1744	1748		rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Broad Bottom (I & II)
File:John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.jpg	John Montagu 4th Earl of Sandwich	1748	1751
File:1stLordAnson.jpg	George Anson 1st Baron Anson	1751	1756
					Template:Party shading/Whigs | Newcastle I
File:Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple by William Hoare.jpg	Richard Grenville-Temple 2nd Earl Temple	1756	1757		Template:Party shading/Whigs | Pitt–Devonshire
File:Daniel Finch (1689-1769), 8th Earl of Winchilsea, 3rd Earl of Nottingham, by Thomas Worlidge.jpg	Daniel Finch 8th Earl of Winchilsea	1757	1757		Template:Party shading/Whigs | 1757 Caretaker
File:1stLordAnson.jpg	George Anson 1st Baron Anson	1757	1762		rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Pitt–Newcastle
				George III File:Coat of Arms of Great Britain (1714-1801).svg
File:2ndEarlofHalifaxByJoshuaReynoldsNSArtGallery.jpg	George Montague-Dunk 2nd Earl of Halifax	1762	1762		rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Bute (ToryTemplate:NdashWhig)
File:George Grenville (1712–1770) by William Hoare (1707-1792).jpg	George Grenville MP for Buckingham	1762	1763
File:John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.jpg	John Montagu 4th Earl of Sandwich	1763	1763		rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Whigs | Grenville
File:John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont by Thomas Hudson.jpg	John Perceval 2nd Earl of Egmont	1763	1766
					Template:Party shading/Whigs | Rockingham I
					rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Chatham (WhigTemplate:NdashTory)
File:Sir Charles Saunders2.jpg	Charles Saunders MP for Hedon	1766	1766
File:Edward Hawke 1.jpg	Edward Hawke MP for Portsmouth	1766	1771
					Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Grafton
					rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Tories | North
File:John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.jpg	John Montagu 4th Earl of Sandwich	1771	1782
File:Augustus Keppel, Viscount Keppel by Sir Joshua Reynolds.jpg	Augustus Keppel 1st Viscount Keppel	1782	1783		Template:Party shading/Whigs | Rockingham II
					rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Shelburne (WhigTemplate:NdashTory)
File:Admiral Richard Howe, 1726-99, 1st Earl Howe RMG BHC2790.tiff	Richard Howe 5th Viscount Howe	1783	1783
File:Augustus Keppel, Viscount Keppel by Sir Joshua Reynolds.jpg	Augustus Keppel 1st Viscount Keppel	1783	1783		Template:Party shading/Coalition (UK) | Fox–North
File:Admiral Richard Howe, 1726-99, 1st Earl Howe RMG BHC2790.tiff	Richard Howe 5th Viscount Howe	1783	1788		rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Tories | Pitt I
File:Chatham2.JPG	John Pitt 2nd Earl of Chatham	1788	1794
File:George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer.jpg	George Spencer 2nd Earl Spencer	1794	1801

First Lords of the Admiralty of the United Kingdom (1801–1964)

From 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

File:Our New First Lord at Sea.png

W. H. Smith portrayed in a Punch cartoon from 13 October 1877 when First Lord, saying: "I think I'll now go below." In H.M.S. 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. 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 Benjamin 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. onlineTemplate:Cbignore
• Hamilton, C. I. (2011). The Making of the Modern Admiralty: British Naval Policy-Making, 1805–1927. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Template:ISBN.
• Rodger, N. A. M., The Admiralty (Lavenham, 1979)
• Sainty, J. C. Admiralty Officials, 1660–1870 (London, 1975)