War Office

Information about War Office

This article is about the former British War Office. For use of this term in the United States, see United States Department of War.


Enlarge picture
Old War Office Building, seen from Whitehall, London - the former location of the War Office
The War Office was a former department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1963, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence. The name "War Office" is also often given to the former home of the department, the Old War Office Building on Horse Guards Avenue, London.

History

The War Office developed from the Council of war, an ad hoc grouping of the King and his senior military commanders which oversaw England's frequent wars and campaigns. A number of older institutions, notably the Board of Ordnance (which dates from the 14th century), were merged to form the War Office. It worked alongside the Admiralty, responsible for the Royal Navy, and the (much later) Air Ministry, which oversaw the Royal Air Force. Its foundation has traditionally been ascribed to William Blathwayt, who on his appointment as Secretary at War in 1684 greatly expanded the remit of his office to cover general day-to-day administration of the Army.

The department had several London homes until it settled at Horse Guards in Whitehall in 1722, where it was to remain until 1858. Horse Guards and the War Office became virtually synonymous (indeed, Horse Guards is still the official headquarters of the Army). The War Office moved to Cumberland House, Pall Mall for the last half of the 19th century before finally moving to purpose-built accommodation in what is now known as the Old War Office Building.

The management of the War Office was initially headed by the curiously-named Secretary at War, whose role had originated under King Charles II of England as the secretary to the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. The first War Office Secretary at War is usually said to have been William Blathwayt, though he had two predecessors in the post. It was, however, a fairly minor government post which dealt with the minutiae of administration rather than grand strategy. Issues of strategic policy during wartime were managed by the Northern and Southern Departments (the predecessors of today's Foreign Office and Home Office).

From 1704 to 1855, the post of Secretary was filled by a minister of the second rank, although he occasionally sat in the Cabinet. Many of the responsibilities were transferred to the Secretary of State for War following the creation of that more senior post in 1794. The post of Secretary at War was merged with that of the Secretary of State for War in 1855 and was abolished altogether in 1863. The Secretary of State for War was also responsible, between 1801 and 1854, for Britain's colonies (when the post was known as the Secretary of State for War and Colonies). This responsibility ceased with the establishment of the Colonial Office.

The disastrous campaigns of the Crimean War led to the consolidation of all administrative duties in 1855 under the Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet post. He was not, however, solely responsible for the Army; the Commander-in-Chief held a virtually equal level of responsibility. This was reduced in theory by the reforms introduced by Edward Cardwell in 1870, which subordinated the Commander-in-Chief to the Secretary for War. In practice, however, a huge amount of influence was retained by the exceedingly conservative Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, who held the post between 1856-1895. His resistance to reform caused military efficiency to lag well behind Britain's rivals, a problem which became painfully obvious during the Second Boer War.

The situation was only remedied in 1904 when the post of Commander-in-Chief was abolished and replaced with that of the Chief of the General Staff and in turn was replaced by the position of Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1908. An Army Council was created along similar lines to the Board of Admiralty, chaired by the Secretary of State for War, and an Imperial General Staff was established to coordinate Army administration.

The management of the War Office was undermined by persistent clashes between the civilian and military sides of the organisation. The government of Herbert Asquith attempted to resolve this during the First World War by appointing Lord Kitchener as Secretary for War, making him the first and only soldier to hold the post. This did not prove a happy experience; under his tenure, the Imperial General Staff was virtually dismantled. Its role was effectively replaced by the Committee of Imperial Defence, established in 1902 to discuss wider defence issues.

The War Office declined greatly in importance after the First World War, a fact illustrated by the drastic reductions in its staff numbers during the inter-war period. On 1 April 1920, it employed 7,434 civilian staff; this had shrunk to 3,872 by 1 April 1930. Its responsibilities and funding were also reduced. In 1936, the government of Neville Chamberlain appointed a Minister for Co-ordination of Defence, who worked outside of the War Office. When Winston Churchill became Prime Minister in 1940, he bypassed the War Office altogether and appointed himself Minister of Defence (though there was, curiously, no ministry of defence until 1964).

Clement Attlee continued this arrangement when he came to power in 1945 but appointed a Minister of Defence for the first time in 1947. In 1964, the Ministry of Defence was established, unifying the War Office, Admiralty, and Air Ministry.

The records of the War Office are kept by The National Archives under their code WO.

Old War Office Building

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View of the Old War Office Building looking south along Whitehall, London
Between 1906 and its abolition in 1964, the War Office was based in a massive neo-Baroque building, completed in 1906, located on Horse Guards Avenue in Whitehall, London. It contains about a thousand rooms across seven floors, linked by 2½ miles of corridors. The construction of the War Office building took five years to complete at what was then a huge cost of over £1.2 million.

The building is somewhat oddly shaped, forming a trapezium shape in order to maximise the usage of the irregularly shaped plot of land on which it was built. Its four distinctive domes were designed as a decorative means of disguising the building's shape.

The building is still used by the Ministry of Defence and is not currently open to the public.

War Office Departments

  • Office of the Secretary of State
  • Military Secretary's Department (1870–1964)
  • Department of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary
  • Directorate-General of Lands (?–1923)
  • Directorate of Lands (1923– )
  • Directorate-General of the Territorial and Volunteer Forces (?–1921)
  • Directorate-General of the Territorial Army (1921– )
  • Central Department (Department of the Secretary)
  • Department of the Chaplain-General
  • Department of the Judge Advocate-General
  • Publicity Section/Information Section
  • Department of the Financial and Parliamentary Secretary (Finance Department)
  • Directorate of Army Contracts (1924– )
  • Imperial General Staff
  • Directorate of Military Intelligence (?–1922)
  • Directorate of Military Operations (?–1922)
  • Directorate of Military Operations and Intelligence (1922– )
  • Directorate of Military Training (1922– )
  • Directorate of Army Staff Duties
  • Department of the Adjutant-General
  • Directorate-General of Graves Registration and Enquiries (?–1921)
  • Directorate-General of Army Medical Services
  • Directorate of Mobilisation
  • Directorate of Organisation
  • Directorate of Army Personal Services
  • Directorate of Prisoners of War (?–1921)
  • Directorate of Recruiting and Organisation
  • Department of the Quartermaster-General
  • Directorate of Equipment and Ordnance Stores (?–1927)
  • Directorate of Movements
  • Directorate of Quartering
  • Directorate of Remounts
  • Directorate of Supplies and Transport
  • Department of the Controller of Surplus Stores and Salvage
  • Department of the Surveyor-General of Supply (?–1921)
  • Directorate-General of Army Veterinary Services
  • Directorate of Works (1927– )
  • Department of the Master-General of the Ordnance
  • Directorate of Artillery
  • Directorate of Factories
  • Directorate of Fortifications and Works (?–1927)
  • Directorate of Ordnance Services (1927– )
  • Department of the Chief Technical Examiner for Works Services

External links

See also

United States Department of War was the department of the United States government's executive branch responsible for the operation and maintenance of land (and later air) forces from 1789 until September 18, 1947, when it became part of the National Military Establishment
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Her Majesty's Government (HMG or HM Government), or when the monarch is male, His Majesty's Government, is the formal title used by the United Kingdom government, based at 10 Downing Street in London.
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The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with unification of the governments and armed forces of England and Scotland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707.
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As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th Century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700 in the Gregorian calendar.

The 17th Century falls into the Early Modern period of Europe and was characterized by the Baroque cultural movement and the beginning of
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1930s  1940s  1950s  - 1960s -  1970s  1980s  1990s
1960 1961 1962 - 1963 - 1964 1965 1966

Year 1963 (MCMLXIII
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Ministry of Defence (MOD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
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London
Canary Wharf is the centre of London's modern office towers
London shown within England
Coordinates:
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
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council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated and coordinated by staff officers, and then
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Motto
Dieu et mon droit   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen".
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The Board of Ordnance was a British government body created in the 15th century. It was responsible for the design, testing and production of armaments and munitions for the British Army.
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14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400.

Events

  • The transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age
  • Beginning of the Ottoman Empire, early expansion into the Balkans

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Naval Service

Components
Royal Navy
  • Surface Fleet
  • Fleet Air Arm
  • Submarine Service
  • Royal Navy Regulating Branch
  • Royal Naval Reserve
  • Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service
Royal Marines
  • (includes Royal Marines Reserve)

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Naval Service

Components
Royal Navy
  • Surface Fleet
  • Fleet Air Arm
  • Submarine Service
  • Royal Navy Regulating Branch
  • Royal Naval Reserve
  • Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service
Royal Marines
  • (includes Royal Marines Reserve)

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Air Ministry was formerly a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force.

Organizations before the Air Ministry

The Air Committee


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Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. The RAF was formed on 1 April 1918 and has since taken a significant role in British military history since then, playing a large part in World War II and in conflicts such as the recent war in Iraq.
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William Blathwayt (or Blathwayte) (1649?-August 1717) was a civil servant and politician who established the War Office as a department of the British Government and played an important part in administering the Thirteen Colonies of North America.
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The Secretary at War was a political position in the British government with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the British army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office.
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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
850s  860s  870s  - 880s -  890s  900s  910s
885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Horse Guards is a large grade I listed building in the Palladian style between Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade in London, England. It was built between 1751-1753 by John Vardy to a design by William Kent.
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Whitehall is a road in Westminster in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards traditional Charing Cross, now at the southern end of Trafalgar Square and marked by the statue of Charles I, which is often regarded as the heart of London.
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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
850s  860s  870s  - 880s -  890s  900s  910s
885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1820s  1830s  1840s  - 1850s -  1860s  1870s  1880s
1855 1856 1857 - 1858 - 1859 1860 1861

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Cumberland House was a mansion on the south side of Pall Mall in London, England. It was built in the 1760s by Matthew Brettingham for Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of York and Albany and was originally called York House.
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Pall Mall (/pæl mæl/) is a street in the City of Westminster, London, situated in SW1 and parallel to The Mall, from St. James's Street across Waterloo Place to the Haymarket; while Pall Mall East continues into Trafalgar Square.
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For the periodical, see .
The 19th Century (also written XIX century) lasted from 1801 through 1900 in the Gregorian calendar. It is often referred to as the "1800s.
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The Secretary at War was a political position in the British government with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the British army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office.
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Charles II (Charles Stuart; 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

According to royalists, Charles II became king when his father Charles I was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, the climax of the English Civil War.
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commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function.
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Northern Department was a former department of the government of England and later the United Kingdom, responsible for dealing with government business in the northern part of Europe.
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The Southern Department was a former department of the government of England and later the United Kingdom. It had a variety of responsibilities, including domestic and Irish policy, colonial policy and foreign affairs concerning southern European powers such as France, Spain,
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