Controller of the Navy (Royal Navy)

The post of Controller of the Navy (abbreviated as CofN) was originally created in 1859 when the Surveyor of the Navy's title changed to Controller of the Navy. In 1869 the controller's office was abolished and its duties were assumed by that of the Third Naval Lord whose title then changed to Third Naval Lord and Controller of the Navy. In 1904 the title was changed again to Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy. In 1965 the office of the Third Sea Lord was abolished. The post-holder is responsible for procurement and matériel in the British Royal Navy.

This article is about the period from 1832-present. For the preceding article 1561-1832, see Comptroller of the Navy (Navy Board).

Controller of the Navy (CofN)
Ensign of the Royal Navy
Incumbent
Rear Admiral James Parkin
since September 2021
Department of the Admiralty, Ministry of Defence
Member ofBoard of Admiralty, Admiralty Board, Navy Board
Reports toFirst Sea Lord
NominatorFirst Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for Defence
AppointerPrime Minister
Subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council
Term lengthNot fixed (typically 1–3 years)
Inaugural holderRear Admiral Sir Samuel Pechell
Formation1832-current

Originally the post-holder was a member of the Board of Admiralty and later a member of the Admiralty Board.

History

The original office of Comptroller of the Navy was established in 1561 during the reign of Elizabeth I of England which was a very different function from what became known later as the Controller of the Navy. They presided over the Navy Board from 1660, and generally superintended the business of the Navy Office, they were responsible for all naval spending and for the offices dealing with bills, accounts and wages during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.[1] By the eighteenth century the principal officer responsible for estimating annual stores requirements, inspecting ships' stores and maintaining the Fleet's store-books and repair-bills was the Surveyor of the Navy however their duties passed increasingly to the Comptroller of the Navy during the latter half of this period. The office of the Surveyor did not altogether disappear. In 1805 for the first time, specific functions were assigned to each of the 'Naval' Lords, who were described as 'Professional' Lords, leaving to the civil lords to the routine business of signing off all official documents.[2] In 1832 the original office of the Comptroller was abolished following a merger with the Board of Admiralty and the Surveyor was made the officer responsible under the First Sea Lord for the material departments.[3] In 1859 the office the Surveyor of the Navy who had overall responsibility for ship design was renamed and the post became known as the Controller of the Navy.[4]

In the re-organisation of the Admiralty by Order in Council of 14 January 1869, the Controller of the Navy was given a seat on the Board of Admiralty as the Third Lord and Controller of the Navy. They also inherited the new duties of the Storekeeper-General of the Navy, whose post was abolished.[5] The Controller lost the title of Third Lord and the seat on the board by an Order in Council of 19 March 1872, but regained them by a further Order in Council of 10 March 1882.[6] In 1872 they again became subordinate to the First Sea Lord, but had the right to attend board meetings when the business of the department was under discussion. In 1882 the Controller again became independent of the First Sea Lord and became a board member again as Third Naval Lord and Controller. The Third Naval Lord's post was renamed to become known as the Third Sea Lord and Controller in 1904. The appointment of Controller of the Navy was abolished in September 1912, although that of Third Sea Lord remained.[7] Thereafter, except for a period in 1917 to 1918 when there was a civilian Controller, the titles of Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy went together.[3]

The Third Sea Lord and Controller was mainly responsible for superintending the work of the Royal Naval Scientific Service and for a number of Admiralty departments, including those of the Department of the Director of Naval Construction, (from 1958 the Department of the Director General Ships), of the Department of the Engineer in Chief (formerly the Steam Department), of the Department of the Director of Naval Ordnance, of the Department of the Director of Dockyards and, following a board decision in 1911, of the Admiralty Compass Observatory, formerly under the control of the Hydrographer's Department War they also had responsibility for the supply of equipment to Combined Operations Headquarters. From 1958 the Fourth Sea Lord was also known as Vice Controller of the Navy they assumed the superintendence of the naval dockyard organisation and the maintenance of the fleet. In 1965 the appointment of Third Sea Lord was abolished and the individual responsible for the materiel side of the navy became simply Controller of the Navy.[8] From 2003 until April 2013 the post holder jointly held different titles such as ( Director, Land Maritime, 2003–2006, Director-General, Nuclear, 2006–2009, Capability Manager/Director (Precision Attack), 2009-2012 and Director, Maritime Capability and Transformation, 2012–2013. From April 2013 until November 2018 the post holder simultaneously held the titles of Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Capability) and Chief of Staff Navy Command (HQ) post holders include:[9] From November 2018, the post holder has been just Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Capability). ACNS Capability is also known as Director Develop as of September 2020.[10]

List of office holders

Third Naval Lords 1832–1868

Third Lords and Controllers of the Navy 1869–1872

Controllers of the Navy 1872–1882

Third Naval Lords and Controllers of the Navy 1882–1904

Third Naval Lords and Controllers of the Navy include:[11]

Third Sea Lord and Controllers of the Navy 1904–1912

Third Sea Lords 1912–1918

Third Sea Lords and Controllers of the Navy 1918–1965

Third Sea Lords and Controllers of the Navy include:[11]

Controllers of the Navy 1965–current

Post holders include:[11]

Departments under the office

At various times included:[13][14][15][16]

Current
  • Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff Warfare
  • Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff Information Superiority
  • Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff Maritime Capability
  • Office Assistant Chief of Staff Integrated Change Programme

Former

At various times included:[17]

See also

References
  1. "Navy Board, In-Letters And Orders, 1688-1815 - National Maritime Museum". collections.rmg.co.uk. Royal Museum Greenwich. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  2. "Sainty, JC, Lord High Admiral and Commissioners of the Admiralty 1660-1870', Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4: Admiralty Officials 1660-1870 (1975), pp. 18-31". Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  3. Archives, The National. "Records of the Surveyor of the Navy and successors". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1620-1979. Retrieved 5 June 2017. This section contains text from this source, which is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
  4. Archives, The National. "Records of the Surveyor of the Navy and successors". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1620-1979. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  5. "The Admiralty", The Times, 4 March 1869
  6. "The Board of Admiralty", The Times, 26 November 1900
  7. "The Administration and Discipline of the Navy", The Times, 9 September 1912
  8. Archives, The National. "Records of the Surveyor of the Navy and successors". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1620-1979. Retrieved 5 June 2017. This article contains text from this source, which is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
  9. Government, HM (1 January 2018). "Navy Directory 2017 Containing Lists of Ships, Establishments and Officers of the Fleet" (PDF). www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Ministry of Defence United Kingdom. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  10. "Director Develop or Director Development in Navy Command" (PDF). whatdotheyknow.com. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020. n response toyour request,I can advise that the position of Director Develop is held by Rear Admiral Andrew Burns.
  11. Mackie, Colin (July 2018). "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin. C. Mackie. p. 9. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  12. Accounts, Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public (2011). Providing the UK's carrier strike capability: fifty-sixth report of session 2010-12, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence. London, England: The Stationery Office. p. 12. ISBN 9780215038821.
  13. Archives, The National. "Records of the Surveyor of the Navy and successors". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1620-1979. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  14. Hamilton, Sir Vesey. "Naval Administration - Part II. - Chapter II". pdavis.nl. Sir Vesey Hamilton, 1896. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  15. Watson, Dr Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation in World War 2, 1939-1945". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 19 September 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  16. "Navy Command senior, as of April 2016 - GOV.UK". gov.uk. MOD. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  17. Hamilton, C. I. (2011). The Making of the Modern Admiralty: British Naval Policy-Making, 1805–1927. Cambridge University Press. p. 292. ISBN 9781139496544.
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