First Lord of the Admiralty

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.

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."

Salary & Residence

The salary had been reduced from £5,000 per annum with residence to £4,500 per annum with residence in 1830/1831 as part of cost-cutting across government. From 1899 the First Lord was granted "an allowance of 50l. To be reconsidered on vacancy". Evidently it was as it disappears after George Goschen's time as First Lord. When his successor Lord Selborne was appointed he was apparently granted £500 per annum because he "was unable to take up his residence in the official house owing to alterations".

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. This change had been made specifically at the behest of the perennially cash-strapped new First Lord, Winston Churchill. The official letter proposing the change made clear:

the benefit to the occupier of receiving a furnished residence is a great deal more than balanced by the incidental expenses involved in the occupation of a house of the size far in excess of the normal requirements of a Minister unprovided with a large private income.

There were, of course, other reasons. It was "estimated that the expense of repairing and refitting Admiralty House as a residence on each change of occupier amounts to £4,000 to £5,000, apart from the annual charges for maintenance", which was given as roughly £300. It was also proposed to convert the first floor into accommodation for the Admiralty War Staff which was created in January, 1912, as "the Admiralty offices are inadequate for the accommodation of the existing staff". Apparently the cost of new office space had been "estimated by the Office of Works, to no less than £40,000" (given the floorspace of the first floor amounted to approximately 3,000 square feet across a mere five rooms, this is exceedingly debatable). Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the promise of savings—both actual and projected—the Treasury approved the proposals the next day in a stunning display of speed, and Churchill's salary was increased to £5,000 per annum.

At the beginning of 1913 Churchill changed his mind and instructed the Admiralty to claim that:

the experience of the past year having shown that the arrangement then made is attended with inconvenience to the Public Service, the First Lord is prepared to occupy Admiralty House as a residence, and it is proposed that such a use should be resumed as soon as practicable.

Naturally Churchill hoped that he would be allowed to keep the £500 allowance on account of "the fact that such an important part of Admiralty House will be reserved for office purposes". Louis J. Hewby, a senior clerk at the Treasury, savagely noted:

This is the first I have heard of any inconvenience to the public service arising from the First Lord's vacation of his official residence, and while the Sec^ies for War and for Foreign Affairs can conduct their business without an official residence, it is not easy to see why the First Lord of the Adm^y cannot do the same.

Hewby then stated "It is clearly out of the question that he sh^d retain his £500 in lieu of residence + the residence. This w^d put him in a better position than his colleagues the Secretaries of State." His superiors approved Churchill's moving in, however, but not the retention of the £500.

Duties

1844.
The 1st Lord as the Constitutional Adviser of the Crown on the affairs of the Department & the responsible Minister, has a general Control & Superintendence, and interferes in any Departt in which he judges it to be his duty to interfere.

1861.
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.
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.
General Direction and Supervision.
Political Questions.
Appointments and Promotions—Private Office.

April, 1875.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, 1853–1931

Name	Date of Appointment	Prime Minister	Government	Portrait
The Right Honourable Sir James Graham, Bart., M.P.	5 January, 1853	The Earl of Aberdeen	Peelite
The Right Honourable Sir Charles Wood, Bart., M.P.	8 March, 1855	Lord Palmerston	Whig
The Right Honourable Sir John Pakington, M.P.	8 March, 1858	The Earl of Derby	Conservative
The Right Honourable The Duke of Somerset	28 June, 1859	Lord Palmerston Earl Russell	Liberal
The Right Honourable Sir John Pakington, M.P.	13 July, 1866	The Earl of Derby	Conservative
The Right Honourable H. T. Lowry Corry, M.P.	8 March, 1867	The Earl of Derby Benjamin Disraeli
The Right Honourable H. C. Erskine Childers, M.P.	18 December, 1868	William E. Gladstone	Liberal
The Right Honourable George J. Goschen, M.P.	9 March, 1871
The Right Honourable G. Ward Hunt, M.P.	3 March, 1874	Benjamin Disraeli (Earl of Beaconsfield, 1876)	Conservative
The Right Honourable W. H. Smith, M.P.	14 August, 1877
The Right Honourable The Earl of Northbrook	12 May, 1880	William E. Gladstone	Liberal
The Rt. Hon. Lord George Hamilton, M.P.	1 July, 1885	The Marquess of Salisbury	Unionist
The Right Honourable The Marquess of Ripon	16 February, 1886	William E. Gladstone	Liberal
The Right Honourable Lord George Hamilton, M.P.	6 August, 1886	The Marquess of Salisbury	Unionist
The Right Honourable The Earl Spencer	23 August, 1892	William E. Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery	Liberal
The Right Honourable George J. Goschen, M.P.	4 July, 1895	The Marquess of Salisbury	Unionist
The Right Honourable The Earl of Selborne	20 November, 1900	The Marquess of Salisbury Arthur Balfour
The Right Honourable The Earl Cawdor	27 March, 1905	Arthur Balfour
The Right Honourable The Lord Tweedmouth	21 December, 1905	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Liberal
The Right Honourable Reginald McKenna, M.P.	16 April, 1908	Herbert H. Asquith
The Right Honourable Winston L. S. Churchill, M.P.	24 October, 1911
The Right Honourable Arthur J. Balfour, M.P.	27 May, 1915		Coalition
The Right Honourable Sir Edward Carson, M.P., Q.C.	11 December, 1916	David Lloyd George
The Right Honourable Sir Eric C. Geddes, M.P.	6 September, 1917
The Right Honourable Walter H. Long, M.P.	16 January, 1919
The Right Honourable Lord Lee of Fareham	18 February, 1921
The Right Honourable Leo C. M. S. Amery, M.P.	31 October, 1922	Andrew Bonar Law	Conservative
The Right Honourable Viscount Chelmsford	28 January, 1924	Ramsay MacDonald	Labour
The Right Honourable William C. Bridgeman, M.P.	7 November, 1924	Stanley Baldwin	Conservative
The Right Honourable Albert V. Alexander, M.P.	10 June, 1929	Ramsay MacDonald	Labour

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.