Military Secretary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Military Secretary is the senior military assistant to the British Secretary of State for Defence and formerly to the Secretary of State for War.

The office was created in 1795. Until 1870 the Military Secretary was the principal secretary to the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, but in 1870 he transferred to the War Office, where he headed the Military Secretary's Division of the Military Department. The division took over some of the functions of the Central Department. It became responsible for honours, awards and brevets; appointments of colonels and appointments of officers to the staff; army establishments; cases of individual officers; general courts martial; the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms and the Yeomen of the Guard; the appointment, promotion and retirement of combatant officers; the Indian Staff Corps; applications for direct commissions; applications for the Royal Military Academy and the Royal Military College; and the Reserve of Officers.

In 1904 the title of the Military Secretary was formally changed to Military Secretary to the Secretary of State for War. In 1964 it reverted to Military Secretary. The post has usually either been given to high-fliers who are expected to go on to greater things or to distinguished generals as the last posting before retirement, hence the wide variation in rank of the holders.

Military secretaries were also appointed as assistants to senior generals and colonial governors and also at the India Office, but used without specification the title usually refers to the official at the Ministry of Defence (and formerly the War Office).

The counterparts to the Military Secretary in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force are entitled the Naval Secretary and the Air Secretary respectively. There is also a tri-service Defence Services Secretary, who is attached to the Royal Household and has responsibility with respect to advice to the Sovereign.

[edit] Military Secretaries

• Colonel Robert Brownrigg, 1795–1803
• Colonel William Clinton, 1803–1804
• Lieutenant-Colonel James Gordon, 1804–1809
• Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, 1809–1820
• Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Taylor, 1820–1827
• Lieutenant-General Lord FitzRoy Somerset, 1827–1852
• Colonel Richard Airey, 1852–1854
• Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Yorke, 1854–1860
• Lieutenant-General William Forster, 1860–?
• Major-General Caledon Egerton, ?–1874
• General Sir Alfred Horsford, 1874–1880
• Lieutenant-General Sir Edmund Whitmore, 1880–1885
• Lieutenant-General Sir George Harman, 1885–1892
• General Sir Reginald Gipps, 1892–1896
• Major-General Sir Coleridge Grove, 1896–1901
• Lieutenant-General Sir Ian Hamilton, 1901–1903
• Colonel John Spencer Ewart, 1904–1906
• General Sir Arthur Wynne, 1906–1911
• Lieutenant-General Sir William Franklyn, 1911–1914
• Lieutenant-General Sir Alfred Codrington, 1914
• Major-General Sir Frederick Robb, 1914–1916
• Lieutenant-General Sir Francis Davies, 1916–1919
• Lieutenant-General Sir Philip Chetwode, 1919–1920
• Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander Godley, 1920–1922
• Lieutenant-General Sir William Peyton, 1922–1925
• Lieutenant-General Sir David Campbell, 1925–1926
• Major-General John Coleridge, 1926–1930
• Lieutenant-General Sir Sidney Clive, 1930–1934
• Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Deedes, 1934–1937
• Major-General The Viscount Gort, 1937
• Lieutenant-General Douglas Brownrigg, 1938–1939
• Lieutenant-General George Giffard, 1939–1940
• Lieutenant-General Arthur Floyer-Acland, 1940–1942
• General Sir Colville Wemyss, 1942–1946
• Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Browning, 1946–1948
• Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Keightley, 1948
• Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Mansergh, 1948–1949
• Lieutenant-General Sir Kenneth McLean, 1949–1951
• Lieutenant-General Sir Euan Miller, 1951–
• Lieutenant-General Sir Colin Callander, 1955–1957
• General Sir Hugh Stockwell, 1957–1959
• Lieutenant-General Sir Geoffrey Thompson, 1959–1961
• Lieutenant-General Sir William Stirling, 1961–1963
• General Sir John Anderson, 1963–1966
• Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Goodwin, 1966–1968
• Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Pearson, 1968–1971
• Lieutenant-General Sir John Sharp, 1971–1974
• Lieutenant-General Sir Patrick Howard-Dobson, 1974–1976
• Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Ford, 1976–1978
• Lieutenant-General Sir Robin Carnegie, 1978–1980
• Lieutenant-General Sir Roland Guy, 1980–1983
• Lieutenant-General Sir David Mostyn, 1983–
• Lieutenant-General Sir John Learmont, 1989–1991
• Lieutenant-General Sir William Rous, 1992–1994
• Major-General Robert Hayman-Joyce, 1994–1995
• Major-General Michael Scott, 1995–1997
• Major-General David Burden, 1997–1999
• Major-General Alistair Irwin, 1999–2000
• Major-General Peter Grant Peterkin, 2000–2003
• Major-General Freddie Viggers, 2003–2005
• Major-General Nicholas Cottam, 2005–

[edit] Military Secretaries to the India Office

• Colonel William Erskine, 1858–1861
• Major-General Sir Thomas Pears, 1861–1877
• General Sir Oliver Newmarch, ?–1899
• General Sir Edward Stedman, 1899–1907
• General Sir O'Moore Creagh, 1907–1909
• General Sir Beauchamp Duff, 1909–1914
• General Sir Edmund Barrow, 1914–1917
• Lieutenant-General Sir Vaughan Cox, 1917–1920
• General Sir Alexander Cobbe, 1920–1926
• Field Marshal Sir Claud Jacob, 1926–1930
• General Sir Alexander Cobbe, 1930–1931
• Major-General Sydney Muspratt, 1931–1933
• Lieutenant-General Sir John Coleridge, 1933–1936
• Major-General Sir Roger Wilson, 1936–1937
• General Sir Sydney Muspratt, 1937–1941
• Major-General Rob Lockhart, 1941–1943
• Lieutenant-General George Molesworth, 1943–1944