First Lord of the Admiralty
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The First Lord of the Admiralty was the minister responsible to Crown and Parliament for the administration of the Naval Service of the United Kingdom, encompassing the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines and other services. By custom and design he was the pre-eminent Lord Commissioner on the Board of Admiralty.
History
By Order in Council of 14 January, 1869, the powers of the First Lord were fixed in law for the first time:
The First Lord being responsible to Your Majesty and to Parliament for all the business of the Admiralty, the other Members of the Board should act as his Assistants in the transaction of the duties.[1]
The supremacy of the First Lord was reinforced by the Orders in Council of 19 March, 1872, and 10 August, 1904, whereby the other Lords Commissioners were no longer labelled "Assistants" but still had their duties assigned to them by the First Lord.
In its obituary of First Lord G. Ward Hunt in 1877 The Times opined that the office "is, perhaps, one of the least enviable in the Cabinet and most open to criticism."[2]
The salary had been reduced from £5,000 per annum with residence to £4,500 per annum with residence in 1830 as part of cost-cutting across government.[3] By Order in Council of 17 January, 1912, this was changed to £4,500 per annum with residence or £4,500 per annum with a £500 per annum allowance in lieu of a residence.[4]
Duties
| 1861.[5] |
|---|
| General Direction and Supervision. |
| Political Questions. |
| Navy Estimates and Financial Questions. |
| Appointments to Commands. |
| Appointment of Chaplains and Naval Instructors. |
| Civil Appointments. |
| Promotions. |
| Honours and Distinctions. |
| Foreign Navies and Intelligence. |
| Slave Trade. |
| Harbours of Refuge. |
| Railways. |
| New Works. |
| Mersey Conservancy. |
| July, 1866.[6] |
|---|
| General Direction and Supervision. |
| Political Questions. |
| Navy: Estimates and Financial Questions. Foreign Navies and Intelligence. Slave Trade. Harbours of Refuge. Railways. New Works. |
| Appointments to Commands. |
| Appointments of Chaplains and Naval Instructors. |
| Civil Appointments. |
| Promotions. |
| Honours and distinctions. |
| Mersey Conservancy. |
| December, 1868.[7] |
|---|
| General Direction and Supervision. |
| Political Questions. |
| Appointments and Promotions—Private Office. |
| April, 1875.[8] |
|---|
| 1.—General Direction and Supervision. |
| 2.—Political Questions. |
| 3.—Promotions. |
| 4.—Honours. |
| 5.—Civil Appointments. |
| 6.—Mersey Conservancy. |
| 7.—Appointments to Commands, &c. |
| 8.—Appointments [of] Commanders to Coast Guard. |
| 9.—Appointments of Chaplains. |
| 10.—Appointments of Naval Instructors. |
| 7 July, 1885.[9] |
|---|
| 1.—General Direction and Supervision. |
| 2.—Political Questions. |
| 3.—Board Questions. |
| 4.—Promotions and Removals from the Service of Naval and Marine Officers. |
| 5.—Honours and Rewards. |
| 6.—Royal Yachts, including Appointment of all Officers. |
| 7.—Civil Appointments and Promotions, except as provided under Controller and Civil Lord. |
| 8.—Mersey Conservancy. |
| 9.—Nomination to Naval Cadetships and to Assistant Clerkships, R.N. |
| 10.—Appointments of— Flag Officers. Captains. Officers Commanding Ships. Commanders to Coast Guard. Chaplains. Naval Instructors. Inspectors and Deputy Inspectors of Hospitals and Medical Officers holding Civil Appointments. |
| 11.—Staff Appointments of the Royal Marines. |
| December, 1888.[10] |
|---|
| 1.—General Direction and Supervision of all business relating to the Navy. |
| 2.—Political Questions. |
| 3.—Board Questions. |
| 4.—Promotions and Removals from the Service of Naval and Marine Officers. |
| 5.—Honours and Rewards. |
| 6.—Royal Yachts, including Appointment of all Officers. |
| 7.—Civil Appointments and Promotions, except as provided under Controller of the Navy, and Civil Lord. |
| 8.—Mersey Conservancy. |
| 9.—Nomination to Naval Cadetships and to Assistant Clerkships, R.N. |
| 10.—Appointments of— Flag Officers. Captains. Officers Commanding Ships. Commanders to Coast Guard. Chaplains. Temporarily delegated to Junior Naval Lord. Naval Instructors. Temporarily delegated to Junior Naval Lord. Inspectors and Deputy Inspectors of Hospitals and Medical Officers holding Civil Appointments. |
| 11.—Staff Appointments of the Royal Marines. |
| 12. Grants in Aid of Churches and Schools. |
| 26 November, 1900.[11] |
|---|
| 1.—General Direction and Supervision of all business relating to the Navy. |
| 2.—Political Questions. |
| 3.—Board Questions. |
| 4.—Promotions and Removals from the Service of Naval and Marine Officers. |
| 5.—Honours and Rewards. |
| 6.—Royal Yachts, including Appointment of all Officers. |
| 7.—Civil Appointments and Promotions, except as elsewhere provided under Controller of the Navy, and Civil Lord. |
| 8.—Mersey Conservancy. |
| 9.—Nomination to Naval Cadetships and to Assistant Clerkships, R.N. |
| 10.—Appointments of— Flag Officers. Captains. Officers Commanding Ships. Commanders to Coast Guard. Inspectors and Deputy Inspectors of Hospitals and Medical Officers holding Civil Appointments. |
| 11.—Staff Appointments of the Royal Marines. |
| 12. Grants in Aid of Churches and Schools. |
| 16 April, 1908.[12] |
|---|
| 1.—General Direction and Supervision of all business relating to the Navy. Political and Board Questions. |
| 2.—Promotions and Removals from the Service of Naval and Marine Officers. Honours and Rewards. |
| 3.—Royal Yachts, including Appointment of all Officers. |
| 4.—Appointment of Admirals and Officers in Command, including Engineer Rear Admirals, Inspectors and Deputy Inspectors of Hospitals, and Staff Appointments of Royal Marines. |
| 5.—Chaplain of the Fleet, appointment of, and entry of Naval Chaplains and Instructors. |
| 6.—Civil Appointments and Promotions, except as provided under Controller and Civil Lord. |
| 7.—Naval Cadetships and Nominations to Assistant Clerkships, R.N. |
| August, 1912.[13] |
|---|
| General Direction and Supervision of all business relating to the Navy. Political and Board Questions. |
| Promotions and Removals from the Service of Naval and Marine Officers. Honours and Rewards. |
| Royal yachts, and Admiralty Yacht, including Appointment of all Officers. |
| Appointment of Flag Officers and Officers in Command, including Engineer Rear-Admirals, Surgeons-General, and Staff Appointments of Royal Marines. |
| Chaplain of the Fleet, appointment of, and entry of Naval Chaplains and Instructors. |
| Civil Appointments and Promotions (higher posts). |
| Naval Cadetships and Nominations to Assistant Clerkships, R.N. |
First Lords of the Admiralty
| Name | Date of Appointment | Prime Minister | Government | Portrait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Right Honourable Sir James Graham, Bart., M.P. | 5 January, 1853[14] | The Earl of Aberdeen | Peelite | 
|
| The Right Honourable Sir Charles Wood, Bart., M.P. | 8 March, 1855[14] | Lord Palmerston | Whig | 
|
| The Right Honourable Sir John Pakington, M.P. | 8 March, 1858[14] | The Earl of Derby | Conservative | 
|
| The Right Honourable The Duke of Somerset | 28 June, 1859[14] | Lord Palmerston Earl Russell |
Liberal | 
|
| The Right Honourable Sir John Pakington, M.P. | 13 July, 1866[14] | The Earl of Derby | Conservative |
|
| The Right Honourable H. T. Lowry Corry, M.P. | 8 March, 1867[14] | The Earl of Derby Benjamin Disraeli |
| |
| The Right Honourable H. C. Erskine Childers, M.P. | 18 December, 1868[14] | William E. Gladstone | Liberal | 
|
| The Right Honourable George J. Goschen, M.P. | 9 March, 1871[14] | 
| ||
| The Right Honourable G. Ward Hunt, M.P. | 3 March, 1874[14] | Benjamin Disraeli (Earl of Beaconsfield, 1876) |
Conservative | 
|
| The Right Honourable W. H. Smith, M.P. | 14 August, 1877[14] | 
| ||
| The Right Honourable The Earl of Northbrook | 12 May, 1880[14] | William E. Gladstone | Liberal | 
|
| The Rt. Hon. Lord George Hamilton, M.P. | 1 July, 1885[14] | The Marquess of Salisbury | Unionist | 
|
| The Right Honourable The Marquess of Ripon | 16 February, 1886[15] | William E. Gladstone | Liberal | 
|
| The Right Honourable Lord George Hamilton, M.P. | 6 August, 1886[15] | The Marquess of Salisbury | Unionist |
|
| The Right Honourable The Earl Spencer | 23 August, 1892[15] | William E. Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery |
Liberal | 
|
| The Right Honourable George J. Goschen, M.P. | 4 July, 1895[15] | The Marquess of Salisbury | Unionist | 
|
| The Right Honourable The Earl of Selborne | 20 November, 1900[15] | The Marquess of Salisbury Arthur Balfour |
| |
| The Right Honourable The Earl Cawdor | 27 March, 1905[15] | Arthur Balfour | 
| |
| The Right Honourable The Lord Tweedmouth | 21 December, 1905[15] | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman | Liberal | 
|
| The Right Honourable Reginald McKenna, M.P. | 16 April, 1908[15] | Herbert H. Asquith | 
| |
| The Right Honourable Winston L. S. Churchill, M.P. | 24 October, 1911[15] | 
| ||
| The Right Honourable Arthur J. Balfour, M.P. | 27 May, 1915[15] | Coalition | 
| |
| The Right Honourable Sir Edward Carson, M.P., Q.C. | 11 December, 1916[15] | David Lloyd George | 
| |
| The Right Honourable Sir Eric C. Geddes, M.P. | 6 September, 1917[15] | 
| ||
| The Right Honourable Walter H. Long, M.P. | 16 January, 1919[15] | 
| ||
| The Right Honourable Lord Lee of Fareham | 18 February, 1921[15] | 
| ||
| The Right Honourable Leo C. M. S. Amery, M.P. | 31 October, 1922[15] | Andrew Bonar Law | Conservative | 
|
| The Right Honourable Viscount Chelmsford | 28 January, 1924[15] | Ramsay MacDonald | Labour | 
|
| The Right Honourable William C. Bridgeman | 7 November, 1924[15] | Stanley Baldwin | Conservative | 
|
| The Right Honourable Albert V. Alexander, M.P. | 10 June, 1929[15] | Ramsay MacDonald | Labour | 
|
Footnotes
- ↑ The Orders in Council for the Regulation of the Naval Service. III. pp. 254-256.
- ↑ "Death of Mr. Ward Hunt" (Obituaries). The Times. Monday, 30 July, 1877. Issue 29007, col F, p. 9.
- ↑ Report from the Select Committee on Official Salaries. pp. 3, 23. Q. 206.
- ↑ The Orders in Council for the Regulation of the Naval Service. X. p. 221.
- ↑ "Appendix No. 1. Distribution of Duties." Report of the Select Committee on the Board of Admiralty (1861). p. 639.
- ↑ Greene Papers. National Maritime Museum. GEE/2.
- ↑ Greene Papers. National Maritime Museum. GEE/2.
- ↑ The National Archives. ADM 1/6316..
- ↑ The National Archives. ADM 116/3392.
- ↑ The National Archives. ADM 116/3392.
- ↑ The National Archives. ADM 116/3392.
- ↑ The National Archives. ADM 116/3392.
- ↑ The National Archives. ADM 116/3392. The distribution of 27 June, 1917, is identical.
- ↑ 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 14.10 14.11 Hamilton. p. 317.
- ↑ 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 15.14 15.15 15.16 15.17 The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 118.
Bibliography
- Report from the Select Committee on Official Salaries; Together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence, Appendix, and Index. H.C. 611 (1850).
- Report from the Select Committee on the Board of Admiralty; Together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence, Appendix, and Index. H.C. 438 (1861).
- 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.
