Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty

United Kingdom
Office of the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty
United Kingdom; Office of the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty
	Royal Arms as used by His Majesty's Government
	Flag of the Secretary to the Admiralty
	Ministry of Defence
Style	The Right Honourable (Formal prefix); Secretary to the Admiralty;
Member of	British Cabinet; Board of Admiralty
Seat	Westminster, London
Appointer	The British Monarch on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	1625–1959
First holder	Sir Edward Nicholas
Final holder	Charles Ian Orr-Ewing
Website	www.gov.uk

The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty, also called the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty, was a job on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer in the British Royal Navy. This position was usually held by a Member of Parliament. Although he attended Board meetings informally, he did not become a full member until 1929. He acted as the deputy to the First Lord of the Admiralty in Parliament and was mainly in charge of naval money and spending from 1625 until 1959.

History

The job started in 1625, with different titles like Secretary to the Lords Admiral, Admiralty, Committees, and Commissions. In July 1660, the title Secretary to the Admiralty was officially created. This lasted until June 18, 1763, when it changed to First Secretary to the Admiralty. In 1870, the First Secretary became the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, while the Second Secretary became the Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty. In 1886, the Parliamentary Secretary was renamed Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty. In 1929, this secretary became a full member of the Board of Admiralty. In 1930, the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary also served as Civil Lord to the Board. The position was ended in 1959 with Parliament’s approval. In 1964, the Admiralty and the Board of Admiralty were abolished and merged into the Ministry of Defence, led by the Minister of State and Under-Secretary of State for the Navy.

Responsibilities

The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary’s duties included:

Handling all suggestions for new or unusual spending
Managing financial questions related to the treasury
Overseeing accounts, cash, stores, and dockyard expenses
Managing contract business, except what the controller handled
Managing finance and budget estimates
Dealing with the Exchequer and audit department on financial questions
Overseeing general spending
Handling work force issues, including yearly petitions
Paying for hired ships
Buying and selling naval and food supplies
Buying and selling ships
Managing purchases and sales of stores in general
Handling financial questions related to the treasury, except those under the civil lord

Office holders

Secretaries to the Lords Admiral, Admiralty, Committees and Commissions

Included:
Notes: From 1645 until 1652 there were two joint secretaries.

Sir Edward Nicholas, 1625–1638
Sir Thomas Smith, 1638–1645
William Jessop and Robert Coytmore, (jointly), 1645–1652
Robert Blackborne, 1652– July 1660

Secretaries to the Admiralty

Included:

Sir William Coventry, July 1660 – September 1667
Matthew Wren, September 1667 – July 1672
Sir John Werden, July 1672 1667 – June 1673
Samuel Pepys, June 1673 – May 1679
Thomas Hayter May 1679 – February 1680
John Brisbane, February 1680 – May 1684
Samuel Pepys, May 1684 – March 1689
Phineas Bowles, March 1689 – January 1690
James Southerne, January 1690 – August 1694
William Bridgeman, August 1694–26 September 1698 joint with Josiah Burchett until 24 June 1698
Josiah Burchett, 26 September 1698 – 20 May 1702
George Clarke, 20 May 1702 – 25 October 1705 joint with Josiah Burchett
Josiah Burchett, 25 October 1705 – 29 April 1741
Thomas Corbett, 1741–1751 joint with Josiah Burchett until 14 October 1742
John Clevland, 30 April 1751 – 18 June 1763

First Secretaries to the Admiralty

Included:

Philip Stephens, 18 June 1763 – 3 March 1795
Evan Nepean, 3 March 1795 – 21 January 1804
William Marsden, 24 January 1804 – 24 June 1807
William Wellesley Pole, 24 June 1807 – 12 October 1809
John Wilson Croker, 12 October 1809 – 2 May 1827

Notes: The Board of Admiralty commission ceased and came under the control of the Lord High Admirals Council from 1827 to 1828.

George Elliot, 1828–1834
George Robert Dawson, 1834–1835
Charles Wood, 1835–1839
Richard More O'Ferrall, 1839–1841
John Parker, 1841
Sidney Herbert, 1841–1845
Henry Lowry-Corry, 1845–1846
Henry George Ward, 1846–1849
John Parker, 1849–1852
Augustus Stafford, 1852
Ralph Bernal Osborne, 1853–1858
Henry Lowry-Corry, 1858–1859
Lord Clarence Paget, 1859–1866
Thomas Baring, 1866
Lord Henry Lennox, 1866–1868
William Edward Baxter, 1868–1871

Parliamentary Secretaries to the Admiralty

George Shaw-Lefevre, 1871–1874
Algernon Egerton, 1874–1880
George Shaw-Lefevre, 1880
George Trevelyan, 1880–1882
Henry Campbell-Bannerman, 1882–1884
Thomas Brassey, 1884–1885
Charles Ritchie, 1885–1886

Parliamentary and Financial Secretaries to the Admiralty

J. T. Hibbert 1886
Arthur Forwood 1886–1892
Sir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth, 2nd Baronet, 1892–1895
William Ellison-Macartney 1895–1900
H. O. Arnold-Forster 1900–1903
E. G. Pretyman 1903–1905
Edmund Robertson 1905–1908
Thomas Macnamara 1908–1920
Sir James Craig, 1st Baronet 1920–1921
Leo Amery 1921–1922
Bolton Eyres-Monsell 1922–1923
Archibald Boyd-Carpenter 1923–1924
Charles Ammon 1924
J. C. C. Davidson 1924–1926
Cuthbert Headlam 1926–1929
Charles Ammon 1929–1931
James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope 1931
Edward Stanley, Lord Stanley 1931–1935
Sir Victor Warrender, 8th Baronet 1935
Edward Stanley, Lord Stanley 1935–1937
Geoffrey Shakespeare 1937–1940
Sir Victor Warrender, 8th Baronet 1940–1945
John Dugdale 1945–1950
James Callaghan 1950–1951
Allan Noble 1951–1955
George Ward 1955–1957
Christopher Soames 1957–1958
Robert Allan 1958–1959
Charles Ian Orr-Ewing 1959

office abolished on 16 October 1959

Departments under the office

References

↑ Hamilton, C. I. (2011). The Making of the Modern Admiralty: British Naval Policy-Making, 1805–1927. Cambridge University Press. p. 125. ISBN 9781139496544.
↑ O'Brien, Phillips Payson (1998). British and American Naval Power: Politics and Policy, 1900–1936. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 12–13. ISBN 9780275958985.
↑ O'Brien, Phillips Payson (1998). British and American Naval Power: Politics and Policy, 1900–1936. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 13. ISBN 9780275958985.
↑ Historical Table of Changes in Government Organisation. Organisation and Methods Division, H.M. Treasury. 1957. p. 15.
↑ Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty – The Dreadnought Project". dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley & Lovell, 14 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
↑ Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: T. Dalton. p. 2. ISBN 0900963948.
↑ Lords, Great Britain House of (1642). Journals of the House of Lords. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 357.
↑ Winfield, Rif (2010). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. p. xxiii. ISBN 9781783469246.
↑ Tomalin, Claire (2002). Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780307427595.
↑ Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: T. Dalton. p. 18. ISBN 0900963948.
↑ Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: T. Dalton. p. 34. ISBN 0900963948.
↑ Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: T. Dalton. p. 52. ISBN 0900963948.
↑ Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: T. Dalton. p. 69. ISBN 0900963948.
↑ Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: T. Dalton. p. 91. ISBN 0900963948.

Haydn, Joseph; Ockerby, Horace (1890). The Book of Dignities; containing Lists of the Official Personages of the British Empire, Civil, Diplomatic, Heraldic, Judicial, Ecclesiastical, Municipal, Naval, and Military, From the Earliest Periods to the Present Time. London: W. H. Allen & Co. pp. 186–187.
Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: Terence Dalton Ltd, Suffolk, England, ISBN 0900963948.

[1] Hamilton, C. I. (2011). The Making of the Modern Admiralty: British Naval Policy-Making, 1805–1927. Cambridge University Press. p. 125. ISBN 9781139496544.

[2] O'Brien, Phillips Payson (1998). British and American Naval Power: Politics and Policy, 1900–1936. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 12–13. ISBN 9780275958985.

[3] O'Brien, Phillips Payson (1998). British and American Naval Power: Politics and Policy, 1900–1936. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 13. ISBN 9780275958985.

[4] Historical Table of Changes in Government Organisation. Organisation and Methods Division, H.M. Treasury. 1957. p. 15.

[5] Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty – The Dreadnought Project". dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley & Lovell, 14 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2017.

[6] Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: T. Dalton. p. 2. ISBN 0900963948.

[7] Lords, Great Britain House of (1642). Journals of the House of Lords. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 357.

[8] Winfield, Rif (2010). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. p. xxiii. ISBN 9781783469246.

[9] Tomalin, Claire (2002). Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780307427595.

[10] Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: T. Dalton. p. 18. ISBN 0900963948.

[11] Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: T. Dalton. p. 34. ISBN 0900963948.

[12] Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: T. Dalton. p. 52. ISBN 0900963948.

[13] Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: T. Dalton. p. 69. ISBN 0900963948.

[14] Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Lavenham: T. Dalton. p. 91. ISBN 0900963948.