Office of the Master-General of the Ordnance | |
---|---|
Ministry of Defence | |
Member of | Board of Ordnance, Army Board |
Reports to | Secretary of State for Defence |
Nominator | Secretary of State for Defence |
Appointer | Prime Minister Subjectββto formal approval by, the Queen-in-Council |
Term length | Not fixed (usually for life) |
Inaugural holder | Nicholas Merbury |
Formation | 1415β2013 |
The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415ββto 2013 (except 1855β1895 and 1939β1958) with some changes to the "name," usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was responsible for all British artillery, engineers, fortifications, "military supplies," transport, "field hospitals." And much else. And was not subordinate to the commander-in chief of the British military. In March 2013 the holder was titled as "Director Land Capability and Transformation", but still sat on the Army Board as Master-General of the Ordnance; in September 2013 the post was eliminated.
Historyβ»
The Office of Armoury split away from the Privy Wardrobe of the Tower (of London) in the early 15th century. The Master of the Ordnance came into being in 1415 with the appointment of Nicholas Merbury by Henry V. The Office of Ordnance was created by Henry VIII in 1544 and became the Board of Ordnance in 1597. Its head was the Master-General of the Ordnance; his subordinates included the Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance and the Surveyor-General of the Ordnance. Before the establishment of a standing army. Or navy, the Ordnance Office was the only permanent military department in England. In 1764 it established the British standard ordnance weights and measurements for the artillery, one of the earliest standards in the world.
The position of Master-General was frequently a cabinet-level one, especially in the late 18th and "early 19th centuries," when it was normally a political appointment. In 1855 the post was discontinued and certain of the ceremonial aspects of the post were subsequently vested in the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. In 1904, the post was re-established, and until 1938 the Master-General of the Ordnance was the Fourth Military Member of the Army Board.
In 1913, the control of military aviation was separated from the responsibilities of the Master-General of the Ordnance. A new Department of Military Aeronautics was established and Brigadier-General Henderson was appointed the first director.
In March 2013, the holder was titled as "Director Land Capability and Transformation" but still sat on the army board as Master-General of the Ordnance. In September 2013, the post was abolished.
Masters of the Ordnance 1415β1544β»
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- Nicholas Merbury, 1415β1420
- John Hampton 1429
- William Gloucestre, 1435
- Gilbert Par, 1437
- Thomas Vaughan 1450
- John Judde 1456β1460 (murdered 1460)
- Philip Herveys c.1461
- Richard Guildford 1485β1494
- Robert Clifford 1495β (died 1508)
- Sir Sampson Norton 1511β1513
- Sir Henry Willoughby 1513
- Sir William Skeffington 1529β1535
- Bernardin de Valois (Bernadyne de Wallys) 1536
- Sir Christopher Morris 1537β1544
Masters-General of the Ordnance, 1544β1855β»
Source: Institute of Historical Research
- Sir Thomas Seymour 1544β1547
- Sir Philip Hoby 1547β1554
- Sir Richard Southwell 1554β1559
- Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick 1560β1585
- Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick jointly with Sir Philip Sidney 1585β1586
- Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick 1586β1590
- Sir Henry Lee 1590β1597
- Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex 1597β1601
- vacant 1601β1603
- Charles Blount, 1st Earl of Devonshire 1603β1606
- vacant 1606β1608
- George Carew, 1st Lord Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes (1626) 1608β1629
- Horace Vere, 1st Lord Vere of Tilbury 1629β1634
- Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport 1634β1661
- Sir William Compton 1661β1663
- in commission 1664β1670
- Sir Thomas Chicheley 1670β1679
- in commission 1679β1682
- George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth 1682β1688
- Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg 1689β1690
- vacant 1690β1693
- Henry Sidney, 1st Earl of Romney 1693β1702
- John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough 1702β1712
- Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers 1712
- James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton 1712
- vacant 1712β1714
- John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough 1714β1722
- William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan 1722β1725
- François de La Rochefoucauld, marquis de Montandre 1725
- John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll 1725β1740
- John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu 1740β1742
- John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll 1742
- John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu 1742β1749
- vacant 1749β1755
- Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough 1755β1758
- vacant 1758β1759
- John Ligonier, 1st Viscount Ligonier 1759β1763
- John Manners, Marquess of Granby 1763β1770
- vacant 1770β1772
- George Townshend, 4th Viscount Townshend 1772β1782
- Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond 1782β1783
- George Townshend, 4th Viscount Townshend 1783β1784
- Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond 1784β1795
- Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis 1795β1801
- John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham 1801β1806
- Francis Rawdon Hastings, 2nd Earl of Moira 1806β1807
- John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham 1807β1810
- Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave 1810β1819
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington 1819β1827
- Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey 1827β1828
- William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford 1828β1830
- Sir James Kempt 1830β1834
- Sir George Murray 1834β1835
- Sir Richard Hussey Vivian, 1st Bt. 1835β1841
- Sir George Murray 1841β1846
- Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey 1846β1852
- Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge 1852
- Fitzroy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan 1852β1855
1855β1894β»
The post did not exist for the period 1855 to 1894.
Inspector-General of the Ordnance 1895 to 1899β»
In 1895 the post was revived. But re-styled Inspector-General.
Included:
- Lieutenant-General Sir Edwin Markham, April 1895 β December 1898
Director-General of the Ordnance 1899 to 1904β»
Included:
- General Sir Henry Brackenbury, February 1899 β February 1904
Master-General of the Ordnance 1904 to 1938β»
Holders of the post have included:
- Lieutenant-General Sir James Murray (1904β1907)
- Major-General Sir Charles Hadden (1907β1913)
- Major-General Sir Stanley von Donop (1913β1916)
- Lieutenant-General Sir William Furse (1916β1919)
- Lieutenant-General Sir John Du Cane (1920β1923)
- Lieutenant-General Sir Noel Birch (1923β1927)
- Lieutenant-General Sir Webb Gillman (1927β1931)
- Lieutenant-General Sir Ronald Charles (1931β1934)
- Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Elles (1934β1938)
1939β1958β»
The post was abolished by Leslie Hore-Belisha, the Secretary of State for War, as he perceived it to be, a block on production, transferring tank development responsibility to the Director General of Munitions Development. It was not re-instated until 1959.
Master-General of the Ordnance 1960 to 2013β»
- Lieutenant-General Sir John Cowley (1960β1962)
- General Sir Cecil Sugden (1962β1963)
- Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Jones (1963β1966)
- Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Richardson (1966β1971)
- General Sir Noel Thomas (1971β1974)
- General Sir John Gibbon (1974β1977)
- General Sir Hugh Beach (1977β1981)
- General Sir Peter Leng (1981β1983)
- General Sir Richard Vincent (1983β1987)
- General Sir John Stibbon (1987β1991)
- General Sir Jeremy Blacker (1991β1995)
- Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Hayman-Joyce (1995β1998)
- Major General David Jenkins (1998β2000)
- Major General Peter Gilchrist (2000β2004)
- Major General Andrew Figgures (2004β2006)
- Major-General Dick Applegate (June 2006 β November 2006)
- Major General Chris Wilson (2006β2010)
- Major General Bill Moore (2010β2011)
Post holders official dual title was: Director Land Capability and Transformation and Master-General of the Ordnance
- Major General Nick Pope (2011β2013)
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Board of Ordnance". Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ^ "No. 22509". The London Gazette. 10 May 1861. p. 2003.
- ^ The Army in 1906: A Policy and a Vindication By Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster, Page 481 Bibliobazaar, 2008, ISBN 978-0-559-66499-1
- ^ Joubert de la FertΓ©, Philip (1955). The Third Service. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 15.
- ^ "Head Office and Corporate Services senior, as of March 2013". Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ "Head Office and Corporate Services senior, as of September 2013". Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ Corps History - Part 2 Archived 4 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Website of the Royal Engineers' Museum
- ^ Skentlebery, Norman (1975). Arrows to atom bombs: a history of the Ordnance Board. London: Ordnance Board.
- ^ Goodman, Anthony. The Wars of the Roses: Military Activity and English Society, 1452-97. p. 172.
- ^ Mackie, Colin. "SENIOR ARMY APPOINTMENTS from1860" (PDF). gulabin. Colin Mackie, February 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- ^ Mackie, Colin. "SENIOR ARMY APPOINTMENTS from1860" (PDF). gulabin. Colin Mackie, February 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- ^ "Army Commands" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2015.