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62-644: The observatory was administered by the Compass Branch (1842–1917), later known as the Compass Department (1917–1968) and Compass Directorate (1968–1971). It was afterwards absorbed within the Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment , but continued to operate at its original site until the early 1980s. In 1795, the post of Hydrographer of the Navy was created. He became responsible to

124-720: A Deputy First Sea Lord , was added to the Board who would administer operations abroad and deal with questions of foreign policy. In October 1917, the development of the staff was carried one step further by the creation of two sub-committees of the Board—the Operations Committee and the Maintenance Committee. The First Lord of the Admiralty was chairman of both committees, and the Operations Committee consisted of

186-634: A Board of Visitors. In 1842, a Compass Branch was established as part of the Hydrographic Department , and a compass observatory was set up in a garden behind a house in Hawkins Terrace, off Maryon Road, Charlton , not far from the Royal Navy's Dockyard at Woolwich . Captain Edward Johnson led the project and appointed a retired Scottish Artillery Sergeant, James Nathaniel Brunton to live in

248-526: A Welsh office at Cardiff in 1953, and a Northern branch office at Newcastle upon Tyne in 1963. Late in 1954, the Lord President appointed a small committee under the chairmanship of Sir Henry Jephcott to enquire into the organisation and functioning of the department. Its recommendations were given effect in the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Act 1956, which abolished the advisory council and

310-709: A history of the establishment. Incomplete list of post holders included: Admiralty (United Kingdom) The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State . For much of its history, from the early 18th century until its abolition,

372-507: A lump sum of £1 million, the 'Million Fund', was voted and an Imperial Trust was set up to administer it. Because of the close connection between education and research, the President of the Board of Education was nominated as vice-president of the committee of the Privy Council, and the committee's staff and accommodation were at first provided by the board. With the increasing importance of

434-759: A number of research organisations, which included large laboratories for special fields of work. Existing institutions for which it assumed responsibility were the National Physical Laboratory from the Royal Society in 1918, the Geological Survey and Geological Museum from the Board of Education in 1919, the Road Experimental Station from the Ministry of Transport in 1933, the Laboratory of

496-888: A practical objective, such as the Building Research Station, the Fire Research Station, the Forest Products Research Laboratory, the Fuel Research Station, the Radio Research Station , the Torry Research Station and the Water Pollution Research Laboratory. The British Museum Laboratory, established by the department in 1919, was transferred to the museum in 1930. Three food research establishments,

558-675: A separate Navy Board responsible for the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy, the Army Board and the Air Force Board , each headed by the Secretary of State for Defence . In the 20th century the structure of the Admiralty Headquarters was predominantly organized into four parts: Board of Admiralty When the office of Lord High Admiral was in commission, as it was for most of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, until it reverted to

620-641: The First Naval Lord for producing charts, 'Sailing Directions', 'Notices to Mariners', tide tables and light lists and for supplying chronometers, compasses and other scientific instruments to HM ships. He was also responsible for naval meteorology and for the Admiralty's links with the Meteorological Office . In 1820, the Hydrographer became responsible for the Royal Observatory , being advised by

682-501: The Medical Research Council ; in 1958 the department's research programme was transferred from its Headquarters Office to the new Warren Spring Laboratory . The executive head of each research organisation was a director of research responsible to the head of the department. The director was provided with one or more research institutes or laboratories and with an advisory research board. The research boards were appointed by

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744-476: The Navy Board responsible for 'civil administration' of the navy, from 1546 to 1832. This structure of administering the navy lasted for 285 years, however, the supply system was often inefficient and corrupt its deficiencies were due as much to its limitations of the times they operated in. The various functions within the Admiralty were not coordinated effectively and lacked inter-dependency with each other, with

806-461: The Navy Board —in 1546, to oversee administrative affairs of the naval service. Operational control of the Royal Navy remained the responsibility of the Lord High Admiral, who was one of the nine Great Officers of State . This management approach would continue in force in the Royal Navy until 1832. King Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission in 1628, and control of

868-636: The Office of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs administered the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of England , which merged with the Royal Scots Navy and then absorbed the responsibilities of the Lord High Admiral of the Kingdom of Scotland with the unification of the Kingdom of Great Britain . The Admiralty was among the most important departments of the British Government , because of the Royal Navy's role in

930-642: The Pest Infestation Laboratory , Low Temperature Research Station and Ditton Laboratory , passed to the Agricultural Research Council in 1959. From 1941 to 1945 the department was responsible for atomic energy research, in an organisation known as the Directorate of Tube Alloys . In the 1950s the department embarked on research in the human sciences in relation to the needs of industry, undertaken from 1953 to 1957 in collaboration with

992-482: The Privy Council consisting at first of six ministers and three other privy councillors in their personal capacities. This new Committee for Scientific and Industrial Research was to be assisted by an Advisory Council, which in turn was assisted by certain advisory committees. As a first step, a scheme was devised for encouraging groups of firms to set up co-operative industrial research associations. For this purpose,

1054-611: The Admiralty (from 1628) exercised the function of general control (military administration) of the Navy and they were usually responsible for the conduct of any war, while the actual supply lines, support and services were managed by four principal officers, namely, the Treasurer , Comptroller , Surveyor and Clerk of the Acts , responsible individually for finance , supervision of accounts , Shipbuilding and maintenance of ships, and record of business. These principal officers came to be known as

1116-599: The Admiralty , he functioned as a member of the board, and attended all of its meetings. In some cases, the term admiralty is used in a wider sense, as meaning sea power or rule over the seas , rather than in strict reference to the institution exercising such power. For example, the well-known lines from Kipling 's Song of the Dead : If blood be the price of admiralty, Lord God, we ha' paid in full! Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (United Kingdom) The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research

1178-619: The Admiralty Naval Staff in 1917. It was the former senior command, operational planning, policy and strategy department within the British Admiralty. It was established in 1917 and existed until 1964 when the department of the Admiralty was abolished, and the staff departments function continued within the Navy Department of the Ministry of Defence until 1971 when its functions became part of the new Naval Staff, Navy Department of

1240-577: The Admiralty. The Lords Commissioners were always a mixture of admirals , known as Naval Lords or Sea Lords and Civil Lords, normally politicians. The quorum of the Board was two commissioners and a secretary. The president of the Board was known as the First Lord of the Admiralty , who was a member of the Cabinet . After 1806, the First Lord of the Admiralty was always a civilian, while the professional head of

1302-566: The Board of Admiralty until 1832. Its principal commissioners of the Navy advised the board in relation to civil administration of the naval affairs. The Navy Board was based at the Navy Office . Board of Admiralty civilian members responsible other important civil functions Admiralty Naval Staff It evolved from * Admiralty Navy War Council , (1909–1912) which in turn became the Admiralty War Staff , (1912–1917) before finally becoming

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1364-686: The CNS to issue orders in their own name, as opposed to them previously being issued by the Permanent Secretary of the Admiralty in the name of the Board. In 1964, the Admiralty—along with the War Office and the Air Ministry —were abolished as separate departments of state, and placed under one single new Ministry of Defence . Within the expanded Ministry of Defence are the new Admiralty Board which has

1426-612: The Crown , it was exercised by a Board of Admiralty, officially known as the Commissioners for Exercising the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, &c. (alternatively of England , Great Britain or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland depending on the period). The Board of Admiralty consisted of a number of Lords Commissioners of

1488-630: The First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, the Deputy First Sea Lord, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff, and Fifth Sea Lord . Full operational control of the Royal Navy was finally handed over to the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) by an order in Council , effective October 1917, under which he became responsible for the issuing of orders affecting all war operations directly to the fleet. It also empowered

1550-839: The Government Chemist (previously the Government Chemist's Department) in 1959, and the Tropical Products Institute from the Colonial Office in the same year. Some research organisations founded by the department had functions defined in terms of a field of science or technology such as the Chemical Research Laboratory, the National Engineering Laboratory and the Hydraulics Research Station . Others were defined in terms of

1612-480: The Imperial Trust and vested executive power in a new Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. The council, set up on 7 November 1956, was appointed by and responsible to the Lord President of the Council and was required to comply with any directions it might receive from a committee of the Privy Council for scientific and industrial research. In 1959 these functions of the lord president were transferred to

1674-597: The Ministry of Defence. Offices of the Naval Staff Admiralty Departments The Admiralty Departments were distinct and component parts of the Department of Admiralty that were superintended by the various offices of the Sea Lords responsible for them; they were primarily administrative, research, scientific and logistical support organisations. The departments role was to provide the men, ships, aircraft and supplies to carry out

1736-468: The Royal Navy is controlled by a Navy Board (not to be confused with the historic Navy Board ). It is common for the various authorities now in charge of the Royal Navy to be referred to as simply 'The Admiralty'. The title of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom was vested in the monarch from 1964 to 2011. The title was awarded to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh by Queen Elizabeth II on his 90th birthday and since his death in 2021 has reverted to

1798-472: The Royal Navy passed to a committee in the form of the Board of Admiralty . The office of Lord High Admiral passed a number of times in and out of commission until 1709, after which the office was almost permanently in commission (the last Lord High Admiral being the future King William IV in the early 19th century). In this organization a dual system operated the Lord High Admiral (from 1546) then Commissioners of

1860-405: The advancement of trade and industry, and taking steps to further the practical application of the results of research. It could make grants for the purposes of any of these functions. The department was not responsible for research undertaken primarily to meet the requirements of national defence, nor did it cover all government activity in research for civil purposes. Large areas of research were

1922-542: The approved policy of the Board of Admiralty and conveyed to them during 20th century by the Admiralty Naval Staff. Offices of the Sea Lords Department of the Permanent Secretary The Secretary's Department consisted of members of the civil service it was directed and controlled by a senior civil servant Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty he was not a Lord Commissioner of

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1984-466: The board ensured the necessary authority to carry through any operation of war. The Deputy Chief of Naval Staff would direct all operations and movements of the fleet, while the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff would be responsible for mercantile movements and anti-submarine operations. The office of Controller would be re-established to deal with all questions relating to supply; on 6 September 1917,

2046-456: The compass, with bearings being taken on a fixed landmark ashore. Other forms of testing were also routinely employed. Ships compasses were tested in this way at Deptford every three to four years. Further to this, the Superintendent received regular reports 'from every British war-ship in every corner of the world'. Compasses for use on smaller vessels such as rowing boats, where less precision

2108-521: The creation of the Admiralty Navy War Council in 1909. Following this, a new advisory body called the Admiralty War Staff was then instituted in 1912, headed by the Chief of the War Staff who was responsible for administering three new sub-divisions responsible for operations , intelligence and mobilisation . The new War Staff had hardly found its feet and it continually struggled with

2170-585: The department was established. In 1928 the committee of council was reconstituted with an entirely ministerial membership; otherwise, the organisation survived with only small changes until the 1950s. The department was responsible for the organisation, development and encouragement of scientific and industrial research and the dissemination of its results. It worked by encouraging and supporting scientific research in universities, technical colleges and other institutions, establishing and developing its own research organisations for investigation and research relative to

2232-500: The department was provided by the needs of the war effort. The initiative was taken by the President of the Board of Education who, in May 1915, presented to Parliament a white paper urging that a permanent organisation for the promotion of scientific and industrial research should be set up. By order in council of 28 July 1915 authority for such an organisation was vested in a committee of

2294-506: The expansion and maintenance of the English overseas possessions in the 17th century , the British Empire in the 18th century , and subsequently. The modern Admiralty Board , to which the functions of the Admiralty were transferred in 1964, is a committee of the tri-service Defence Council of the United Kingdom . This Admiralty Board meets only twice a year, and the day-to-day running of

2356-482: The first table, and its bearing ascertained by aligning sights upon this mark. On the second table is a telescopic sight, by which the movements of a very delicate magnet on the third table can be ascertained. The degrees of variation for Deptford (usually about 17°) can be read of a scale and correction applied'. After testing ashore, the compass was then tested again aboard its ship, which was moored (usually off Greenhithe ) and swung on its moorings through all points of

2418-507: The house and tend the observatory. This was an octagonal wooden structure "rather like a summer house", which had to be free of iron. It had two shutters in the roof and three masonry pedestals to hold instruments. Two were used to determine true north; the other held compasses being tested. Johnson died in 1853 and Brunton continued to run the Observatory but never attained the rank of Acting Superintendent. In 1869 Woolwich Dockyard closed, and

2480-582: The industrial side of research, these initial arrangements soon became inadequate. Consequently, in December 1916 a separate Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was created, having its own parliamentary vote but responsible to Parliament through the Lord President of the Council . Once the full four-tier organisation of the committee of the council, the Advisory Council, the Imperial Trust and

2542-402: The lord president of the Council until 1956 and thereafter by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research . The boards were responsible for advising the council on the programme of work to be undertaken, and to watch, comment and advise, and to report annually, on the progress of the approved programme. A Scottish branch office of the department was opened in Edinburgh in September 1947,

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2604-419: The monarch. There also continues to be a Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom and a Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom , both of which are honorary offices. The office of Admiral of England (later Lord Admiral, and later Lord High Admiral ) was created around 1400; there had previously been Admirals of the northern and western seas. King Henry VIII established the Council of the Marine—later to become

2666-431: The navy and naval thought. Between 1860 and 1908, there was no real study of strategy and of staff work conducted within the naval service ; it was practically ignored. All the Navy's talent flowed to the great technical universities. This school of thought for the next 50 years was exclusively technically based. The first serious attempt to introduce a sole management body to administer the naval service manifested itself in

2728-409: The navy came to be (and is still today) known as the First Sea Lord . Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (1628–1964) The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was not vested in a single person. The commissioners were a mixture of politicians without naval experience and professional naval officers,

2790-413: The newly created Minister for Science. The department was abolished by the Science and Technology Act 1965 , which dispersed its functions over a number of government departments and other bodies. Those primarily concerned were the new Ministry of Technology , which became responsible for the application of scientific knowledge to industry and for the majority of the department's research establishments;

2852-403: The newly created office of Chief of the Naval Staff was merged in the office of the First Sea Lord. Also appointed was a new post, that of Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff , and an Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff ; all were given seats on the Board of Admiralty. This for the first time gave the naval staff direct representation on the board; the presence of three senior naval senior members on

2914-425: The observatory was moved to Ditton Park near Slough and used the house and its immediate grounds when the compass branch was elevated to a department. The Radio Research Station of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was co-located at Ditton Park, and provided basic information in this field. By 1968 it formed part of the Controllers Department and was renamed the Compass Directorate. In 1971, it

2976-416: The observatory was moved to the Naval Victualling Yard at Deptford . The Superintendent had his residence and office on the site (above which he maintained a small museum, containing 'the first water-compass, made by a Feversham optician, and [...] a number of compasses which have been on Polar expeditions, or round the world with the Challenger '). The observatory building itself had been transferred to

3038-399: The opposition to its existence by senior officers they were categorically opposed to a staff. The deficiencies of the system within this department of state could be seen in the conduct of the Dardanelles campaign . There were no mechanisms in place to answer the big strategic questions. A Trade Division was created in 1914. Sir John Jellicoe came to the Admiralty in 1916. He re-organized

3100-434: The proportion of naval officers generally increasing over time. Key Officials First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty was the British government's senior civilian adviser on all naval affairs and the minister responsible for the direction and control of the Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office later the Department of Admiralty.(+) His office

3162-480: The responsibility of other bodies – aviation, atomic energy, agriculture, health and medicine, meteorology – though it might undertake specific investigations on behalf of the responsible departments. The department encouraged and supported scientific research in universities and other institutions by means of grants for special research projects, research fellowships, studentships, grants to research associations and research contracts. The department absorbed or created

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3224-505: The result that in 1832, Sir James Graham abolished the Navy Board and merged its functions within those of the Board of Admiralty. At the time this had distinct advantages; however, it failed to retain the principle of distinctions between the Admiralty and supply, and a lot of bureaucracy followed with the merger. In 1860 saw big growth in the development of technical crafts, the expansion of more admiralty branches that really began with age of steam that would have an enormous influence on

3286-423: The role of the Lord High Admiral was almost invariably put "in commission" and exercised by the Lords Commissioner of the Admiralty , who sat on the governing Board of Admiralty , rather than by a single person. The Admiralty was replaced by the Admiralty Board in 1964, as part of the reforms that created the Ministry of Defence and its Navy Department (later Navy Command ). Before the Acts of Union 1707 ,

3348-402: The site from Charlton, together with the associated equipment. The simple wooden structure, around 15 ft (4.6 m) in diameter, stood in the central open square of the victualling establishment. No iron was permitted in or near the building. Brunton continued in his role at Deptford but stayed in the Maryon Road house for another year after which he was given a lodging allowance; in 1871 he

3410-423: The war staff as following: Chief of War Staff, Operations, Intelligence, Signal Section , Mobilisation, Trade. It was not until 1917 that the admiralty department was again properly reorganized and began to function as a professional military staff . In May 1917, the term "Admiralty War Staff" was renamed and that department and its functional role were superseded by a new " Admiralty Naval Staff "; in addition,

3472-407: Was a department of the British Government responsible for the organisation, development, and encouragement of scientific and industrial research. At the outbreak of the First World War "Britain found ... it was dangerously dependent on enemy industries". At the request of the Board of Trade , the Board of Education prepared a White Paper under the chairmanship of Sir William McCormick . The DSIR

3534-401: Was living in The Terrace at Deptford Dockyard and was Assistant Superintendent of Compasses. He eventually was forced to retire, aged over 80, in 1883. In 1895, Arthur Quiller-Couch described the operation of the observatory on a visit to the establishment: 'Within the room are three stone pillars in line with a mark on a wall outside, and 110 feet away. The compass to be tested is placed on

3596-483: Was merged as part of the Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment (ASWE) within the navigation division. The site was later renamed as Admiralty Research Establishment (ARE) Slough, and in its final years its became part of the Defence Research Agency (DRA) from 1991, and the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) from 1995. After its release from Defence use, the whole site was bought by Computer Associates (now CA Technologies) in 1997. Commander Fanning wrote

3658-399: Was required, were also tested on site, but using smaller-scale equipment in the Superintendent's office. In 1911, the Compass Branch was removed from the Department of the Hydrographer of the Navy, and affiliated instead to the Controller of the Navy's Department; at the same time its work in connection with terrestrial magnetism was transferred to the Royal Observatory Greenwich. In 1917,

3720-475: Was set up to fill the roles that the White Paper specified: "to finance worthy research proposals, to award research fellowships and studentships [in universities], and to encourage the development of research associations in private industry and research facilities in university science departments. [It] rapidly assumed a key role in coordinating government aid to university research. It maintained these roles until 1965. The annual budget during its first year, 1915,

3782-410: Was supported by the Naval Secretariat . First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff The First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff was the Chief Naval Adviser on the Board of Admiralty to the First Lord and superintended the offices of the sea lords and the admiralty naval staff. Navy Board The Navy Board was an independent board from 1546 until 1628 when it became subordinate to, yet autonomous of

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3844-412: Was £1,000,000. Before the twentieth century, the government was little concerned with scientific enquiry. By 1914 there were a number of small governmental bodies with a specialised scientific interest, but little organised effort towards the application of discoveries made in fundamental research and no organisation concerned with the application of science to industry. The impetus to the establishment of

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