Under-Secretary of State for War was a British government position, first applied to Evan Nepean (appointed in 1794). In 1801 the offices for War and the Colonies were merged and the post became that of Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854 and remained until 1947, when it was combined with that of Financial Secretary to the War Office. In 1964 the War Office, Admiralty and Air Ministry were merged to form the Ministry of Defence, and the post was abolished.

Parliamentary under-secretaries of state for war

1794–1801

NamePeriod
Evan Nepean1794–1795
William Huskisson1795–1801

See Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies for the period 1801-1854.

1854–1947

NamePeriod
Henry Roberts1854–1855
Frederick Peel1855–1857
Sir John Ramsden, 5th Baronet1857–1858
Charles Hardinge, 2nd Viscount Hardinge1858–March 1859
James St Clair-Erskine, 3rd Earl of RosslynMarch 1859–June 1859
George Robinson, 3rd Earl de GreyJune 1859–January 1861
Thomas BaringJanuary 1861–July 1861
George Robinson, 3rd Earl de GreyJuly 1861–1863
Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington1863–February 1866
Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th Baron Dufferin and ClaneboyeFebruary 1866–July 1866
William Lygon Pakenham, 4th Earl of LongfordJuly 1866–1868
Thomas Baring, 2nd Baron Northbrook1868–1872
Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne1872–1874
George Herbert, 13th Earl of Pembroke1874–1875
George Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan1875–1878
William Keppel, Viscount Bury1878–1880
Albert Parker, 3rd Earl of Morley1880–1885
William Keppel, Viscount Bury1885–February 1886
William Mansfield, 2nd Baron SandhurstFebruary 1886–August 1886
Robert Harris, 4th Baron HarrisAugust 1886–1890
Adelbert Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow1890–1892
William Mansfield, 2nd Baron Sandhurst1892–January 1895
Robert Collier, 2nd Baron MonkswellJanuary 1895–July 1895
St John BrodrickJuly 1895–1898
George Wyndham1898–1900
George Somerset, 3rd Baron Raglan1900–1902
Albert Yorke, 6th Earl of Hardwicke1902–1903
Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 6th Earl of Donoughmore1903–1905
Newton Wallop, 6th Earl of Portsmouth1905–1908
Auberon Herbert, 9th Baron Lucas of Crudwell1908–1911
J. E. B. Seely1911–1912
Harold Tennant1912–1916
Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby1916
Ian Macpherson1916–1918
William Peel, 2nd Viscount Peel1919–1921
Robert Sanders1921–1922
Walter Guinness1922–1923
Wilfrid Ashley1923–1924
Clement Attlee1924
Richard Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow1924–1928
George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland1928–1929
Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr1929–1930
Dudley Aman, 1st Baron Marley1930–1931
Office vacant1931
James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope1931–1934
Donald Howard, 3rd Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal1934–1939
Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster1939
John Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham1939–1940
Henry Page Croft, 1st Baron Croft
and Sir Edward Grigg		1940–1942
Henry Page Croft, 1st Baron Croft
and Arthur Henderson		1942–1943
Henry Page Croft, 1st Baron Croft1943–1945
Harry Nathan, 1st Baron Nathan1945–1946
Frank Pakenham, Baron Pakenham1946–April 1947

In April 1947 the office was combined with that of Financial Secretary to the War Office.

Financial secretaries to the War Office, 1947–1964

NamePeriod
John Freeman1947–?
Michael Stewart?–1951
Woodrow Wyatt1951
James Hutchison1951–1954
Fitzroy Maclean1954–1957
Julian Amery1957–1958
Hugh Fraser1958–1960
James Ramsden1960–1963
Peter Kirk1963–April 1964

Office reorganised 1 April 1964

Permanent under-secretaries of state for war, 1854–1966

NamePeriod
G. C. Mundy1854–1857
Sir Benjamin Hawes1857–1862
Sir Edward Lugard1862–1871
John Vivian.[1]1871–1878
Sir Ralph Wood Thompson1878–1895
Sir Arthur Haliburton1895–1897
Sir Ralph Henry Knox1897–1901
Sir Edward Ward1901–1914
Sir Reginald Brade1914–1920
Sir Herbert Creedy1920–1939
Sir P. J. Grigg1939–1942
Sir Frederick Bovenschen and Sir Eric Speed1942–1945
Sir E. Speed1945–1948
Sir G. Turner1949–1956
Sir Edward Playfair1956–1960
Sir Richard Way1960–1963
A. Drew1963–1964

References