28-747: The Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Supplies , originally known as the Fourth Naval Lord , was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty , which controlled the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom . The post is currently known as Chief of Materiel (Fleet) . As of 2017, it is also known as Chief of Fleet Support , Chief of Materiel (Ships) , then as of 2020, Director General Ships . The origin of this appointment dates back to 1830 when
56-447: A member of parliament . Between 1703 and the spring of 1704, the permitted number of members of the council was raised to six. After spring 1704 until 1708, the upper limit of members of the council was increased to seven. In May 1827, the Duke of Clarence was authorised to appoint a council that consisted of no more than four members to hold office during his tenure; by July 1827, the right of
84-618: A Board of Admiralty under another name. After the serving Lord High Admiral, the Duke of York (future James II of England), had been disqualified from the office as a Roman Catholic following the Test Act 1673 , the Board of Commissioners consisted of between twelve and sixteen Privy Councillors , who served without salaries. In 1679 this was changed, and the number of Commissioners was reduced to seven, who were to receive salaries and need not be members of
112-412: A new Ministry of Defence. Following the merger a new post of Chief of Fleet Support was created, assuming the same responsibilities and duties until 2007 when it was renamed Chief of Materiel (Fleet) . In around 2017, it was titled as Chief of Materiel (Ships) . In around August 2020, it was renamed as Director General Ships . In 1805, for the first time, specific functions were assigned to each of
140-531: A series of councils appointed to advise and assist the Lord High Admiral of England and then later of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the direction of Naval Affairs also known as Council of the Lord High Admiral when the Board of Admiralty was not in commission the first series took place between 1702-1708 and second and final series of councils took place from 1827-1828. For
168-515: The Council of the Marine . There was an exception for the period from 1827 to 1828, when the office of Lord High Admiral was briefly revived for William, Duke of Clarence , later King William IV. With the exception of the years 1702 to 1709 and 1827 to 1828, when an individual Lord High Admiral was appointed who convened a Lord High Admirals Council to manage naval affairs, this remained the case (although
196-601: The Naval Staff Lords , and the politicians, Civil Lords , with the civil lords usually in a majority prior to 1830 and finally the Civil Secretaries . Between 1832 and 1869 following the abolition of Navy Board a number of Civilian Naval Officials were also appointed as members. During the First World War the number of Sea Lords was increased at one time to eight and the number of Civil Lords to three, but after
224-625: The 'Naval' Lords, who were described as 'Professional' Lords, leaving to the 'Civil' Lords the routine business of signing documents. The Fourth Sea Lord as Chief of Naval Supplies was responsible for supplying the navy, and his responsibilities included transport, victualling (supplying food), and medical services. Fourth Naval Lords include: Junior Naval Lords include: Fourth Sea Lords include: Included: Chiefs of Fleet Support include: Chiefs of Materiel (Fleet) include: Chief of Materiel (Ships) include At various times included: Naval Lord The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964)
252-517: The Admiralty , four Naval Lords (three between 1868 and 1886), known from 1904 as Sea Lords, and a Civil Lord, with a Parliamentary and a Permanent Secretary. The Lords Commissioners remained jointly responsible, subject to the controlling political authority of the First Lord, for all aspects of naval affairs, but in addition, especially after the reforms of 1869, they had individual responsibility for
280-505: The Admiralty ceased to exist, but the First, Second and Third Sea Lords retained their titles, despite ceasing to be Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. In 2011, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the title of Lord High Admiral on her husband the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , which he held until his death in 2021. Lord High Admirals Council The Lord High Admirals Council was
308-615: The Board of Admiralty became the sole authority charged with both administrative and operational control of the navy when the Navy Board was abolished. The term Admiralty has become synonymous with the command and control of the Royal Navy, partly personified in the Board of Admiralty and in the Admiralty buildings in London from where operations were in large part directed. It existed until 1964 when
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#1732851864616336-501: The Board to change on a change of ministry. After 1806 the First Lord was always a civilian and a senior member of the ministry, while the separate post of First Sea Lord was evolved for the senior professional member. However, until late in the nineteenth century the First Sea Lord and his professional colleagues remained free to play an active part in politics, although as the century progressed they chose to do so less and less. Until
364-623: The Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom. – The Queen's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions for the Regulation of Her Majesty's Naval Service (1879). The Lords Commissioners usually comprised a mixture of serving admirals , first called Naval Lord Commissioners , then Naval Lords then Professional Naval Lords then Sea Lords , later were added
392-674: The Lord High Admiral to appoint council members was passed over to the Monarch . The Duke of Clarence's councils usually consisted of two naval members and two civil members, in all twelve councils would convene during the two periods. Senior Members of Lords Admiral Council (*), Naval Member (N) and Civil Member (C) Council of 22 May 1702 Council of 29 March 1703 Council of 30 April 1704 Council of 26 December 1704 Council of 11 June 1705 Council of 8 February 1706 Notes: 28 June 1707: Prince George , Lord High Admiral (reappointed as Lord High Admiral of Great Britain following
420-480: The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty", and were commonly referred to collectively as "Their Lordships" or "My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty", though individual members were not entitled to these styles. More informally, they were known in short as "The Lords of the Admiralty". That, for example, is the term invariably used throughout the well-known Horatio Hornblower series of historical novels. With
448-583: The Privy Council. Finally in 1708, soon after the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain , the Board of Admiralty became the normal instrument for governing the navy operationally on a day to basis, however the responsibility for the day to day administrative affairs of the naval service lay with another authority known as the Navy Board , established earlier by King Henry VIII in 1546, which had evolved out of
476-673: The abolition of the Board of Admiralty and its merger into the Ministry of Defence in 1964, formal control of the Navy was taken over by the Admiralty Board of the Defence Council of the United Kingdom , with the day-to-day running of the Navy taken over by the Navy Board . The office of Lord High Admiral was vested in the Crown (i.e. in the person of the current British monarch) and that of First Lord of
504-552: The absorption of the High Court of Admiralty into the Court of Judicature they nominally retained, as executors of the office of Lord High Admiral, their centuries-old link with that court. When the Navy Board was abolished in 1832 and responsibility for the civil administration of the Navy passed to the Board of Admiralty, the Board was redesigned. It now consisted of the First Lord of
532-457: The number of Commissioners varied) until the Admiralty became part of the Ministry of Defence in 1964. The eighteenth century Board of Admiralty usually contained a preponderance of civilians, although there was a naval element and often a sea officer was First Lord. The Lords Commissioners were all active politicians, even the naval members, and it was usual for some members and later the whole of
560-492: The office of First Lord of the Admiralty was finally abolished and the functions of the Lords Commissioners were transferred to the new Admiralty Board and the tri-service Defence Council of the United Kingdom . The office of Lord High Admiral was created in around 1400 to take charge of the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of England . It was one of the Great Officers of State . The office could be exercised by an individual (as
588-509: The periods the Board of Admiralty was not in commission, a special council of advisers known as the Lord High Admirals Council was established on the advice of the government of the day to which the Lord High Admiral had to accept the advisers recommended by the government. In 1702, Prince George was authorised to appoint a Lord Admirals Council – there were originally three naval members and one civil member who were usually
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#1732851864616616-521: The post of Fourth Naval Lord was created until 1868 when it was re-styled Junior Naval Lord ; this title remained until 1904 when it was again re-styled Fourth Sea Lord until 1964 when the Admiralty Department abolished this post. The modern equivalent is titled the "Naval Member for Logistics", who is responsible for the logistical support and the supply chain of the navy. Its functions along with two other departments of state were merged within
644-686: The system on which the Admiralty was organised continued unchanged until 1 April 1964, when the Board became the Admiralty Board of the Defence Council of the Ministry of Defence, the office of Lord High Admiral itself being vested in HM the Queen. Duties were assigned to each Lord Commissioner by the First Lord and defined in a Minute of the Board, and amended from time to time. The Lords Commissioners were entitled collectively to be known as " The Right Honourable
672-564: The war most of these extra members left the Board. In 1938 the title of the Board member designated Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air) was altered to Fifth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Air Services. For fuller details of Board membership during this period see The Second World War: A Guide to Documents in the Public Record Office (PRO Handbooks No.15) pp13–24. The specialist departments of the Board of Admiralty changed their names and functions, and varied in number, from time to time, but
700-454: The work of the several departments of the Admiralty. This responsibility did not always coincide with control of staff and the head of a department might be responsible to two or more Lords Commissioners for the different aspects of his department's work. ADMIRALTY—shall mean the Lord High Admiral for the time being of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and, when there shall be no such Lord High Admiral in office, any Two or more of
728-408: Was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission . As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requirements of the Royal Navy ; at that point administrative control of the navy was still the responsibility of the Navy Board , established in 1546. This system remained in place until 1832, when
756-427: Was invariably the case until 1628), by the Crown directly (as was the case between 1684 and 1689), or by a Board of Admiralty. The office of the Lord High Admiral from creation was the titular head of the Royal Navy and its holders were primarily responsible for policy direction, operational control and maritime jurisdiction of the service. On the death of the Duke of Buckingham in 1628 his office of Lord High Admiral
784-412: Was put into commission by King Charles I , six Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were appointed to execute the office jointly. In 1638 the office of Lord High Admiral was revived, but throughout the rest of the seventeenth century there were periods when the office was again in commission and even when there was a Lord High Admiral, he was often advised by a separate council , which was virtually
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