Churchill war ministry
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister during World War II
The Churchill war ministry was a Conservative-led coalition government in the United Kingdom, which lasted for most of World War II. It was led by Winston Churchill, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Formed in 1940, within a year of the war's outbreak, it lasted until 23 May 1945, shortly after the defeat of Germany, when Churchill resigned and an election was called.
The war ministry was followed by the Churchill caretaker ministry which in turn lasted until 26 July 1945 when the results of the general election brought Labour into government, led by Clement Attlee.
War Cabinet
1940–1945
Red indicates a member of the Labour Party, whilst blue indicates a member of the Conservative Party. Grey indicates an independent.
For a list of changes to the composition of the ministry, see here.
List of Ministers
Members of the War Cabinet are in bold face.
| Office | Name | Party | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and First Lord of the Treasury | Winston Churchill | Conservative | 10 May 1940 | Member of War Cabinet; also Leader of the House of Commons 1940-1942 |
| Lord Chancellor | Viscount Simon | Liberal National | 12 May 1940 | |
| Lord President of the Council | Neville Chamberlain | Conservative | 11 May 1940 | Member of War Cabinet. Died in November 1940. |
| Sir John Anderson | Independent | 3 October 1940 | Member of War Cabinet | |
| Clement Attlee | Labour | 24 September 1943 | Member of War Cabinet | |
| Lord Privy Seal | Clement Attlee | Labour | 11 May 1940 | Member of War Cabinet; also Deputy Leader of the House of Commons |
| Stafford Cripps | Labour | 19 February 1942 | Member of War Cabinet; also Leader of the House of Commons | |
| Viscount Cranborne | Conservative | 22 November 1942 | also Leader of the House of Lords | |
| Lord Beaverbrook | Conservative | 24 September 1943 | Member of War Cabinet | |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Sir Kingsley Wood | Conservative | 12 May 1940 | In War Cabinet from 3 October 1940 – 19 February 1942 |
| Sir John Anderson | National | 24 September 1943 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | David Margesson | Conservative | 17 May 1940 – 22 December 1940 | Jointly |
| Sir Charles Edwards | Labour | 17 May 1940 – 12 March 1942 | Jointly | |
| James Stuart | Conservative | 14 January 1941 – 23 May 1945 | Jointly | |
| William Whiteley | Labour | 12 March 1942 – 23 May 1945 | Jointly | |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Harry Crookshank | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | |
| Ralph Assheton | Conservative | 7 February 1943 | ||
| Osbert Peake | Conservative | 29 October 1944 | ||
| Lords of the Treasury | Stephen Furness | Liberal National | 12 May 1940 – 18 May 1940 | |
| James Stuart | Conservative | 12 May 1940 – 14 January 1941 | ||
| Patrick Munro | Conservative | 12 May 1940 – 13 March 1942 | ||
| Patrick Buchan-Hepburn | Conservative | 12 May 1940 – 26 June 1940 | ||
| William Whytehead Boulton | Conservative | 12 May 1940 – 13 March 1942 | ||
| Wilfred Paling | Labour | 18 May 1940 – 8 February 1941 | ||
| James Thomas | Conservative | 26 June 1940 – 25 September 1943 | ||
| Thomas Dugdale | Conservative | 8 February 1941 – 23 February 1942 | ||
| William Murdoch Adamson | Labour | 1 March 1941 – 2 October 1944 | ||
| Arthur Young | Conservative | 23 February 1942 – 3 July 1944 | ||
| John McEwen | Conservative | 13 March 1942 – 6 December 1944 | ||
| Leslie Pym | Conservative | 13 March 1942 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| Alec Beechman | Liberal National | 25 September 1943 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| Cedric Drewe | Conservative | 3 July 1944 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| William John | Labour | 2 October 1944 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| Patrick Buchan-Hepburn | Conservative | 6 December 1944 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | Viscount Halifax | Conservative | 11 May 1940 | also Leader of the House of Lords from 3 October 1940; Member of War Cabinet |
| Anthony Eden | Conservative | 22 December 1940 | Member of War Cabinet; also Leader of the House of Commons 1942-1945 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | R. A. Butler | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | |
| Richard Law | Conservative | 20 July 1941 | ||
| George Henry Hall | Labour | 25 September 1943 | ||
| Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Home Security | Sir John Anderson | National | 12 May 1940 | |
| Herbert Morrison | Labour | 2 October 1940 | In War Cabinet from 22 November 1942 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | Osbert Peake | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | |
| The Earl of Munster | Conservative | 31 October 1944 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary for the Home Department | William Mabane | Liberal National | 15 May 1940 – 3 June 1942 | |
| Ellen Wilkinson | Labour | 8 October 1940 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| First Lord of the Admiralty | A. V. Alexander | Labour | 11 May 1940 | |
| Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty | Sir Victor Warrender, Bt | Conservative | 17 May 1940 | Lord Bruntisfield |
| Civil Lord of the Admiralty | Sir Austin Hudson, Bt | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | |
| Richard Pilkington | Conservative | 4 March 1942 | ||
| Financial Secretary to the Admiralty | George Hall | Labour | 4 February 1942 | |
| James Thomas | Conservative | 1943 | ||
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | Robert Hudson | Conservative | 14 May 1940 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries | The Lord Moyne | Conservative | 15 May 1940 – 8 February 1941 | |
| Tom Williams | Labour | 15 May 1940 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| The Duke of Norfolk | Conservative | 8 February 1941 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| Secretary of State for Air | Sir Archibald Sinclair, Bt | Liberal | 11 May 1940 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Air | Harold Balfour | Conservative | 15 May 1940 – 21 November 1944 | |
| The Lord Sherwood | Liberal | 20 July 1941 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| Rupert Brabner | Conservative | 21 November 1944 – 27 March 1945 | ||
| Quintin Hogg | Conservative | 12 April 1945 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| Minister of Aircraft Production | The Lord Beaverbrook | Conservative | 14 May 1940 | In War Cabinet from 2 August 1940 – 1 May 1941 |
| John Moore-Brabazon | Conservative | 1 May 1941 | ||
| John Llewellin | Conservative | 22 February 1942 | ||
| Sir Stafford Cripps | Labour | 22 November 1942 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aircraft Production | John Llewellin | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | |
| Frederick Montague | Labour | 1 May 1941 | ||
| Ben Smith | Labour | 4 March 1942 | ||
| Alan Lennox-Boyd | Conservative | 11 November 1943 | ||
| Minister of Civil Aviation | The Viscount Swinton | Conservative | 8 October 1944 | New office |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Civil Aviation | Robert Perkins | Conservative | 22 March 1945 | |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | The Lord Lloyd | Conservative | 12 May 1940 | also Leader of the House of Lords from 22 December 1940 |
| The Lord Moyne | Conservative | 8 February 1941 | also Leader of the House of Lords | |
| Viscount Cranborne | Conservative | 22 February 1942 | also Leader of the House of Lords | |
| Oliver Stanley | Conservative | 22 November 1942 | ||
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | George Hall | Labour | 15 May 1940 | |
| Harold Macmillan | Conservative | 4 February 1942 | ||
| The Duke of Devonshire | Conservative | 1 January 1943 | ||
| Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | The Viscount Caldecote | Conservative | 14 May 1940 | also Leader of the House of Lords |
| Viscount Cranborne | Conservative | 3 October 1940 | ||
| Clement Attlee | Labour | 19 February 1942 | Member of War Cabinet | |
| Viscount Cranborne | Conservative | 24 September 1943 | also Leader of the House of Lords | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | Geoffrey Shakespeare | Liberal National | 15 May 1940 | |
| Paul Emrys-Evans | Conservative | 4 March 1942 | ||
| Minister of Economic Warfare | Hugh Dalton | Labour | 15 May 1940 | |
| Viscount Wolmer | Conservative | 22 February 1942 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Warfare | Dingle Foot | Liberal | 17 May 1940 | |
| President of the Board of Education | Herwald Ramsbotham | Conservative | 14 May 1940 | |
| Rab Butler | Conservative | 20 July 1941 | Renamed Minister of Education 3 August 1944 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education | James Chuter Ede | Labour | 15 May 1940 | |
| Minister of Food | The Lord Woolton | Conservative | 13 May 1940 | |
| John Llewellin | Conservative | 11 November 1943 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Food | Robert Boothby | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | |
| Gwilym Lloyd-George | Liberal | 22 October 1940 | ||
| William Mabane | Liberal National | 3 June 1942 | ||
| Minister of Fuel and Power | Gwilym Lloyd-George | Liberal | 3 June 1942 | New office |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fuel and Power | Geoffrey Lloyd | Conservative | 3 June 1942 – 23 May 1945 | |
| Tom Smith | Labour | 3 June 1942 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| Minister of Health | Malcolm MacDonald | National Labour | 13 May 1940 | |
| Ernest Brown | Liberal National | 8 February 1941 | ||
| Henry Willink | Conservative | 11 November 1943 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health | Florence Horsbrugh | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | |
| Secretary of State for India and Burma | Leo Amery | Conservative | 13 May 1940 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary for India and Burma | The Duke of Devonshire | Conservative | 17 May 1940 | |
| The Earl of Munster | Conservative | 1 January 1943 | ||
| The Earl of Listowel | Labour | 31 October 1944 | ||
| Minister of Information | Duff Cooper | Conservative | 12 May 1940 | Attended War Cabinet from 28 May 1940 |
| Brendan Bracken | Conservative | 20 July 1941 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Information | Harold Nicolson | National Labour | 17 May 1940 | |
| Ernest Thurtle | Labour | 20 July 1941 | ||
| Minister of Labour and National Service | Ernest Bevin | Labour | 13 May 1940 | In War Cabinet from 3 October 1940 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour | Ralph Assheton | Conservative | 15 May 1940 – 4 February 1942 | |
| George Tomlinson | Labour | 8 February 1941 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| Malcolm McCorquodale | Conservative | 4 February 1942 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | The Lord Hankey | Independent | 14 May 1940 | |
| Duff Cooper | Conservative | 20 July 1941 | ||
| Ernest Brown | Liberal National | 11 November 1943 | ||
| Minister Resident North-West Africa | Harold Macmillan | Conservative | 30 December 1942 | |
| Minister Resident Middle East | Oliver Lyttelton | Conservative | 19 February 1942 | Member of War Cabinet |
| Richard Casey | Independent | 19 March 1942 | Member of War Cabinet until 23 December 1943. Not a British MP | |
| The Lord Moyne | Conservative | 28 January 1944 | ||
| Sir Edward Grigg | Conservative | 21 November 1944 | ||
| Deputy Minister of State | The Lord Moyne | Conservative | 27 August 1942 – 28 January 1944 | |
| Minister Resident, Washington | John Llewellin | Conservative | 22 November 1942 | |
| Ben Smith | Labour | 11 November 1943 | ||
| Minister Resident West Africa | The Viscount Swinton | Conservative | 8 June 1942 | |
| Harold Balfour | Conservative | 21 November 1944 | ||
| Minister without Portfolio | Arthur Greenwood | Labour | 11 May 1940 – 22 February 1942 | Member of War Cabinet |
| Sir William Jowitt | Labour | 30 December 1942 – 8 October 1944 | ||
| Paymaster General | Viscount Cranborne | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | Office vacant 3 October 1940 |
| The Lord Hankey | Independent | 20 July 1941 | ||
| Sir William Jowitt | Labour | 4 March 1942 | ||
| The Lord Cherwell | Conservative | 30 December 1942 | ||
| Minister for Pensions | Sir Walter Womersley | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Pensions | Ellen Wilkinson | Labour | 17 May 1940 | |
| The Lord Tryon | Conservative | 8 October 1940 | ||
| Wilfred Paling | Labour | 8 February 1941 | ||
| Postmaster-General | William Morrison | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | |
| Harry Crookshank | Conservative | 7 February 1943 | ||
| Assistant Postmaster-General | Charles Waterhouse | Conservative | 17 May 1940 | |
| Allan Chapman | Conservative | 1 March 1941 | ||
| Robert Grimston | Conservative | 4 March 1942 | ||
| Minister of Reconstruction | The Lord Woolton | Conservative | 11 November 1943 | Member of War Cabinet |
| Secretary of State for Scotland | Ernest Brown | Liberal National | 14 May 1940 | |
| Tom Johnston | Labour | 8 February 1941 | ||
| Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | Joseph Westwood | Labour | 17 May 1940 – 23 May 1945 | |
| Henry Wedderburn | Conservative | 8 February 1941 – 4 March 1942 | ||
| Allan Chapman | Conservative | 4 March 1942 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| Minister of Shipping | Ronald Cross | Conservative | 14 May 1940 | Merged into Minister of War Transport 1 May 1941 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Shipping | Sir Arthur Salter | Independent | 15 May 1940 | |
| Minister of Social Insurance | Sir William Jowitt | Labour | 8 October 1944 | Renamed Minister of National Insurance 17 November 1944 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Insurance | Charles Peat | Conservative | 22 March 1945 | |
| Minister of State | The Lord Beaverbrook | Conservative | 1 May 1941 | Member of War Cabinet |
| Oliver Lyttelton | Conservative | 29 June 1941 | Member of War Cabinet. Office vacant from 12 March 1942 | |
| Minister of Supply | Herbert Morrison | Labour | 12 May 1940 | |
| Sir Andrew Rae Duncan | Conservative | 3 October 1940 | ||
| The Lord Beaverbrook | Conservative | 29 June 1941 | Member of War Cabinet | |
| Sir Andrew Rae Duncan | Conservative | 4 February 1942 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Supply | Harold Macmillan | Conservative | 15 May 1940 – 4 February 1942 | |
| Wyndham Raymond Portal, 1st Viscount Portal | Conservative | 4 September 1940 – 22 February 1942 | ||
| Ralph Assheton | Conservative | 4 February 1942 – 7 February 1943 | ||
| Charles Peat | Conservative | 4 March 1942 – 22 March 1945 | ||
| Duncan Sandys | Conservative | 7 February 1943 – 21 November 1944 | ||
| John Wilmot | Labour | 21 November 1944 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| James de Rothschild | Liberal | 22 March 1945 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| Minister of Town and Country Planning | William Morrison | Conservative | 30 December 1942 | Minister designate until 7 February 1943 |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Town and Country Planning | Henry Strauss | Conservative | 30 December 1942 | |
| Arthur Jenkins | Labour | 22 March 1945 | ||
| President of the Board of Trade | Sir Andrew Rae Duncan | Conservative | 12 May 1940 | |
| Oliver Lyttelton | Conservative | 3 October 1940 | ||
| Sir Andrew Rae Duncan | Conservative | 29 June 1941 | ||
| John Llewellin | Conservative | 4 February 1942 | ||
| Hugh Dalton | Labour | 22 February 1942 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | Gwilym Lloyd-George | Liberal | 15 May 1940 | Also Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Food from 22 October 1940 |
| Charles Waterhouse | Conservative | 8 February 1941 | ||
| Secretary for Overseas Trade | Harcourt Johnstone | Liberal | 15 May 1940 | |
| Secretary for Mines | David Grenfell | Labour | 15 May 1940 | |
| Secretary for Petroleum | Geoffrey Lloyd | Conservative | 15 May 1940 – 3 June 1942 | Combined into Minister for Fuel and Power |
| Minister of Transport | Sir John Reith | National | 14 May 1940 | |
| John Moore-Brabazon | Conservative | 3 October 1940 | became Minister of War Transport 1 May 1941 | |
| Minister of War Production | The Lord Beaverbrook | Conservative | 4 February 1942 | Office vacant 19 February 1942 |
| Oliver Lyttelton | Conservative | 12 March 1942 | Post retitled Minister of Production upon appointment | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Production | George Garro-Jones | Labour | 10 September 1942 | |
| Secretary of State for War | Anthony Eden | Conservative | 11 May 1940 | |
| David Margesson | Conservative | 22 December 1940 | ||
| Sir P. J. Grigg | National | 22 February 1942 | ||
| Under-Secretary of State for War | Sir Henry Page Croft | Conservative | 17 May 1940 – 23 May 1945 | Lord Croft |
| Sir Edward Grigg | Conservative | 17 May 1940 – 4 March 1942 | ||
| Arthur Henderson | Labour | 4 March 1942 – 7 February 1943 | ||
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | Richard Law | Conservative | 17 May 1940 | |
| Duncan Sandys | Conservative | 20 July 1941 | ||
| Arthur Henderson | Labour | 7 February 1943 | ||
| Minister of War Transport | The Lord Leathers | Conservative | 1 May 1941 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of War Transport | Frederick Montague | Labour | 18 May 1940 – 1 May 1941 | |
| John Llewellin | Conservative | 1 May 1941 – 4 February 1942 | ||
| Sir Arthur Salter | Independent | 29 June 1941 – 4 February 1942 | ||
| First Commissioner of Works | The Lord Tryon | Conservative | 18 May 1940 | |
| Sir John Reith | National | 3 October 1940 | Minister of Works and Buildings, and 1st Commissioner. Later Lord Reith | |
| The Lord Portal | Conservative | 22 February 1942 | Renamed Minister of Works and Planning from 11 February 1942, and Minister of Works from February 1943 | |
| Duncan Sandys | Conservative | 21 November 1944 | ||
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Works | George Hicks | Labour | 19 November 1940 – 23 May 1945 | |
| Henry Strauss | Conservative | 4 March 1942 – 30 December 1942 | ||
| Attorney General | Sir Donald Somervell | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | |
| Solicitor General | Sir William Jowitt | Labour | 15 May 1940 | |
| Sir David Maxwell Fyfe | Conservative | 4 March 1942 | ||
| Lord Advocate | Thomas Cooper | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | |
| James Reid | Conservative | 5 June 1941 | ||
| Solicitor General for Scotland | James Reid | Conservative | 15 May 1940 | |
| David King Murray | Conservative | 5 June 1941 | Knighted | |
| Treasurer of the Household | Robert Grimston | Conservative | 17 May 1940 | |
| Sir James Edmondson | Conservative | 12 March 1942 | ||
| Comptroller of the Household | William Whiteley | Labour | 17 May 1940 | |
| William John | Labour | 12 March 1942 | ||
| George Mathers | Labour | 2 October 1944 | ||
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Sir James Edmondson | Conservative | 17 May 1940 | |
| William Whytehead Boulton | Conservative | 12 March 1942 | ||
| Arthur Young | Conservative | 13 July 1944 | ||
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Lord Snell | Labour | 31 May 1940 – 21 April 1944 | |
| The Earl Fortescue | Conservative | 22 March 1945 | ||
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | The Lord Templemore | Conservative | 31 May 1940 | |
| Lords in Waiting | The Earl Fortescue | Conservative | 31 May 1940 – 22 March 1945 | |
| The Viscount Clifden | Liberal | 31 May 1940 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| The Lord Alness | Liberal National | 31 May 1940 – 23 May 1945 | ||
| The Marquess of Normanby | Conservative | 22 March 1945 – 23 May 1945 | ||
Changes
- August 1940: Lord Beaverbrook (a Canadian-British citizen), Minister of Aircraft Production, joins the War Cabinet
- October 1940: Sir John Anderson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Lord President. Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, enter the War Cabinet. Lord Halifax assumes the additional job of Leader of the House of Lords.
- December 1940: Anthony Eden succeeds Lord Halifax as Foreign Secretary. Halifax remains nominally in the Cabinet as Ambassador to the United States. His successor as Leader of the House of Lords is not in the War Cabinet.
- May 1941: Lord Beaverbrook ceased to be Minister of Aircraft Production, but remains in the Cabinet as Minister of State. His successor was not in the War Cabinet.
- June 1941: Lord Beaverbrook becomes Minister of Supply, remaining in the War Cabinet.
- 1941: Oliver Lyttelton enters the Cabinet as Minister Resident in the Middle East.
- 4 February 1942: Lord Beaverbrook becomes Minister of War Production; his successor as Minister of Supply is not in the War Cabinet.
- 19 February 1942: Beaverbrook resigns and no replacement Minister of War Production is appointed for the moment. Clement Attlee becomes Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister. Sir Stafford Cripps succeeds Attlee as Lord Privy Seal and takes over the position of Leader of the House of Commons from Churchill. Sir Kingsley Wood leaves the War Cabinet, though remaining Chancellor of the Exchequer.
- 22 February 1942: Arthur Greenwood resigns from the War Cabinet.
- March 1942: Oliver Lyttelton fills the vacant position of Minister of Production ("War" was dropped from the title). Richard Gardiner Casey (a member of the Australian Parliament) succeeds Oliver Lyttelton as Minister Resident in the Middle East.
- October 1942: Sir Stafford Cripps retires as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons and leaves the War Cabinet. His successor as Lord Privy Seal is not in the Cabinet, Anthony Eden takes the additional position of Leader of the House of Commons. The Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison, enters the Cabinet.
- September 1943: Sir John Anderson succeeds Sir Kingsley Wood (deceased) as Chancellor of the Exchequer, remaining in the War Cabinet. Clement Attlee succeeds Anderson as Lord President, remaining also Deputy Prime Minister. Attlee's successor as Dominions Secretary is not in the Cabinet.
- November 1943: Lord Woolton enters the Cabinet as Minister of Reconstruction.
- January to November 1944: Lord Moyne replaces Richard Gardiner Casey as Minister Resident in the Middle East.
References
- D. Butler and G. Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000.
- Photo of the Churchill Coalition Government 1940-45 from the website of the Imperial War Museum.
| Preceded by Chamberlain War Ministry |
Government of the United Kingdom 1940–1945 |
Succeeded by Churchill Caretaker Ministry |
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