Admiralty War Staff


The Admiralty War Staff was the former senior naval staff operational planning organisation within the British Admiralty that existed from 1912–17. 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.

History and development

The department's development can be traced back to 1885. It evolved out of some of the functions within the Naval Intelligence Department, which originally administered two divisions: Foreign Intelligence Division and Mobilisation Division.
In 1900 a third was added, the War and Coast Defences 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 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 the NID was relieved of its responsibility for war planning and strategy when the outgoing Fisher created an interim 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 the newly created Naval Mobilisation Department, and the NID reverted to the position it held prior to 1887, an intelligence collection and collation organisation.
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 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, 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.

Establishment

In 1911, Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, communicated to 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 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 the new course of training for staff officer. Reginald Plunkett was the first officer selected.

Duties

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 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.

Disestablishment

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 and staff functions were grouped under two new heads, the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff and the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff.

Chiefs of the War Staff

Chiefs of the War Staff included:
RankNameImageIn officeNotesReference
Rear AdmiralErnest TroubridgeJanuary 1912 - January 1913
AdmiralSir Henry JacksonJanuary 1913 - July 1914
Vice AdmiralSir Doveton SturdeeJuly 1914 - November 1914
AdmiralHenry OliverNovember 1914 - May 1917

Assistant Chiefs of the War Staff

Assistant Chiefs of the War Staff included:
RankNameImageIn officeNotesReference
CommanderTufton BeamishJanuary 1912 - April 1913
CaptainArthur VyvyanJanuary 1913 - October 1914
Lieutenant colonelJohn Rose, RMLISeptember 1914 - October 1914
CaptainSydney FremantleSeptember 1914 - July 1915
Lieutenant colonelHarry Farquharson, RMOctober 1914 - March 1915
CaptainArthur MayMay 1915 - January 1918
CaptainHenry W. GrantMay 1915 - January 1918

Special Service, War Staff

Special Service, War Staff included:
RankNameImageIn officeNotesReference
Vice AdmiralSir Edmond Slade.April 1915 - November 1918retired flag officer
Vice AdmiralSir Douglas Gamble.July 1915 - May 1917retired flag officer
Vice AdmiralSir Robert Ommanney.August 1915 - - November 1918retired flag officer
Captainthe Hon. Charles DormerJuly 1915 - November 1918
CaptainEgerton ScrivenerJuly 1915 - November 1918

Operational divisions

As of December 1916, operational divisions included:
Primary source for this article is by Harley Simon, Lovell Tony,, Admiralty War Staff, dreadnoughtproject.org, http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org.