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25-515: In 1906 the Admiralty set up a Signals Committee to initially investigate signaling between Royal Navy vessels and Merchant Navy vessels, in 1914 the Admiralty War Staff had established an expanded Signal Section to deal with all shore to ship communications following the abolition of the war staff function. The Signal Division was established on the 18 August 1917 the divisions primary role

50-561: A fourth division, Trade, was created for matters related to the protection of merchant shipping. The Trade Division was abolished in October 1909 in the wake of the Committee of Imperial Defence inquiry into the feud between the First Sea Lord , Admiral Sir John Fisher and former Commander-in-Chief Channel Fleet , Admiral Lord Charles Beresford , when it was discovered that the captain heading

75-675: The British Admiralty that existed from 1912 to 1917. It was instituted on 8 January 1912 by Winston Churchill in his capacity as First Lord of the Admiralty and was in effect a war council whose head reported directly to the First Sea Lord . After the First World War ended, the War Staff was replaced by the Admiralty Naval Staff department. The department's development can be traced back to 1887. It evolved out of some of

100-770: The Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) and the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (ACNS). Chiefs of the War Staff included: Assistants to the Chiefs of the War Staff included: Special Service, War Staff included: As of December 1916, operational divisions included: Primary source for this article is by Harley Simon, Lovell Tony, (2017), Admiralty War Staff (Royal Navy), dreadnoughtproject.org, http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org . Naval Intelligence Division (United Kingdom) The Naval Intelligence Division ( NID )

125-622: The Prime Minister that the Admiral of the Fleet was opposed to any formation of a new naval staff, and because of this he insisted that he be relieved of his duties by January 1912. Churchill would continue to brief the Prime Minister as the project developed and advised him as to what the composition of the new staff department might initially entail: These divisions would be headed by a new Chief of

150-632: The War Office had a General Staff department as early as 1904, to deal with the aftermath of the Boer War and an assessment of the problems they faced the Admiralty . However, at this point it had no Senior Staff department. In May 1909, the Director of Naval Intelligence , Rear-Admiral The Honourable Alexander E. Bethell , submitted a proposal for a Navy War Council composed of the First Sea Lord as President,

175-576: The Admiralty Department was abolished and replaced by a new Navy Department within the Ministry of Defence . As of August, 1917: Included: Included: Primary source for this article is by Harley Simon, Lovell Tony, (2017), Signal Division (Royal Navy), dreadnoughtproject.org, http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org . Admiralty War Staff The Admiralty War Staff was the former senior naval staff operational planning organisation within

200-544: The Admiralty was an operational HQ and could give orders during a battle; while the Imperial General Staff (Army) and Air Staff would give commanders general orders such as, "clear the enemy out of Africa" without telling them how to do it. Hence verbatim translations of naval decodes were sent by Hut 4 to the NID and nowhere else (except for some naval intelligence sent directly from Bletchley Park to Commanders-in-Chief in

225-1000: The Director of Naval Intelligence as Vice-President, an Assistant Director for War, the President and the Captain of the Royal Naval War College , and the Naval Assistant to the First Sea Lord . The head of the Naval Intelligence Department's War Division and the Commander of the Royal Naval War College were to act as Joint Secretaries. In 1911, Winston Churchill , the First Lord of the Admiralty , communicated to

250-513: The Fleet are issued, but the Staff will possess no executive authority. It will discharge no administrative duties. Its responsibilities will end with the tendering of advice and with the accuracy of the facts on which that advice is based. In early spring 1917 the name "War Staff" was abolished and a replaced by an Admiralty Naval Staff. The First Sea Lord also assumed title of Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) and staff functions were grouped under two new heads,

275-587: The Mediterranean). Hut 8 which decrypted Enigma messages for Hut 4 to translate and analyse had less information for Ultra as the Kriegsmarine operated Enigma more securely than the German Army and Air Force. Hut 4 also broke various hand cyphers and some Italian naval traffic. The NID also initiated the 30th Assault Unit whose role was information gathering, reconnaissance and sabotage . Members of

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300-522: The NID was relieved of its responsibility for war planning and strategy when the outgoing Fisher created an Admiralty Navy War Council as a stop-gap remedy to criticisms emanating from the Beresford Inquiry that the Navy needed a naval staff, a role the NID had been in fact fulfilling since at least 1900, if not earlier. After this re-organisation, war planning and strategic matters were transferred to

325-679: The Trade Division had been supplying the latter with confidential information during the inquiry. In 1910, the NID was shorn of its responsibility for war planning and strategy when the outgoing Fisher created the Navy War Council as a stop-gap remedy to criticisms emanating from the Beresford Inquiry that the Navy needed a naval staff—a role the NID had been in fact fulfilling since at least 1900, if not earlier. After this reorganisation, war planning and strategic matters were transferred to

350-544: The War Staff answerable to the Board of Admiralty and supported by an Assistant Chief of the War Staff. In January 1912, the First Lord released his communique detailing the administrative function of the new department and listed the following new appointments. From 1912, onward additional divisions were established headed by directors responsible for their particular function. At its founding, 12 officers were selected to undergo

375-566: The functions within the Naval Intelligence Department (NID), which originally administered two divisions: Foreign Intelligence Division and Mobilisation Division. In 1900 a Defence Division was created, later called the War Division, to deal with issues of strategy and defence. In 1902 a fourth function was added, the Trade Division, which was created for matters relating to the protection of merchant shipping. The Trade Division

400-530: The new course of training for staff officer. Reginald Plunkett was the first officer selected. As stated in the Churchill Memorandum on a War Staff for the Royal Navy Point 10: The functions of the War Staff will be advisory. The Chief of the Staff, when decision has been taken upon any proposal, will be jointly responsible with the secretary for the precise form in which the necessary orders to

425-421: The newly created Naval Mobilisation Department (NMD), and the NID reverted to the position it held prior to 1887, an intelligence collection and collation organisation, but its director remained one of the First Sea Lord's principal advisors. Sir John Fisher had made known his support for the need of a Naval Staff as early as 1902. In creating a staff the Admiralty was certainly lagging behind, particularly when

450-470: The newly created Naval Mobilisation Department and the NID reverted to the position it held prior to 1887—an intelligence collection and collation organisation. In 1912 the division was established as a component part of the new Admiralty War Staff organisation when that body was abolished in 1917 it continued as a division of the new Admiralty Naval Staff until 1964 when the Admiralty Department

475-614: The unit, including Ralph Izzard , are acknowledged as inspirations for Ian Fleming (who also worked for the NID) in the creation of his fictional spy, James Bond . The Geographical Section of the Naval Intelligence Division, Naval Staff, Admiralty, produced a series of Geographical Handbooks from 1917 to 1922 to provide information for the British Armed Forces . The Naval Intelligence Division Geographical Handbook Series

500-413: Was abolished in October 1909 in the wake of the Committee of Imperial Defence inquiry into the feud between the First Sea Lord , Admiral Sir John Fisher and former Commander-in-Chief Channel Fleet , Admiral Lord Charles Beresford , when it was discovered that the captain heading the Trade Division had been supplying the latter with confidential information during the inquiry. Following restructuring

525-751: Was abolished. During World War I the NID was responsible for the Royal Navy's highly successful cryptographic efforts, Room 40 . The interception and decoding of the Zimmermann Telegram played a role in bringing the United States into the War. It has described as the most significant intelligence triumph for Britain during World War I, and one of the first occasions on which a piece of signals intelligence influenced world events. Naval Ultra messages were handled differently from Army and Air Force Ultra because

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550-475: Was created as a component part of the Admiralty War Staff in 1912. It was the intelligence arm of the British Admiralty before the establishment of a unified Defence Intelligence Staff in 1964. It dealt with matters concerning British naval plans, with the collection of naval intelligence . It was also known as "Room 39" , after its room number at the Admiralty. The Foreign Intelligence Committee

575-419: Was established in 1882 and it evolved into the Naval Intelligence Department in 1887. The NID staff were originally responsible for fleet mobilisation and war plans as well as foreign intelligence collection; thus in the beginning there were originally two divisions: (1) intelligence (Foreign) and (2) Mobilisation. In 1900 another division, War, was added to deal with issues of strategy and defence, and in 1902

600-466: Was for receiving and sending signals to ships at sea and stations ashore, but also for the coding or cyphering of the signals. In September 1919 the division was renamed the Communications Division until 1927 when it was again re-styled Signal Section still within the Naval Staff until 1941 when it reverted to Signal Division, it continued as a component part of the Naval Staff until 1964 when

625-519: Was produced between 1941 and 1946 to provide information for the British Armed Forces. In 1965, the three service intelligence departments were amalgamated in the new Defence Intelligence Service at the Ministry of Defence . However, well before the mid-1990s another Royal Naval branch existed, namely the Directorate of Naval Security & Integrated Contingency Planning (DNSyICP), which

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