View source for Military Secretary (United Kingdom)

{{Short description|British Army appointment}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
The '''Military Secretary''' is the [[British Army]] office with responsibility for appointments, promotion, postings and discipline of high ranking officers of the British Army.<ref>[http://www.tidworthcommunityarea.info/content/view/302/2/ New Commander at Bulford Army Division]Tidworth Community Area {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183254/http://www.tidworthcommunityarea.info/content/view/302/2/ |date=3 March 2016 }}</ref> It is a senior British Army appointment, held by an officer holding the rank of [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|major-general]]. The position of '''Deputy Military Secretary''' is held by an officer holding the rank of [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|brigadier]]. The Military Secretary's counterpart in the [[Royal Navy]] is the [[Naval Secretary]]. The [[Royal Air Force]] equivalent is the [[Air Secretary]].

The post was initially established as the Public Secretary or Military Secretary to the [[Commander-in-Chief of the Forces]] in 1795 (prior to which a civilian had served as Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief).<ref name=Roper1998>{{cite book |last1=Roper |first1=Michael |title=The Records of the War Office and Related Departments, 1660-1964 |date=1998 |publisher=Public Record Office |location=Kew, Surrey }}</ref>
 
The title was formally changed to Military Secretary to the [[Secretary of State for War]] in 1904.<ref>[http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/EWART.shtml Sir John Spencer Ewart] Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives</ref> It was sometimes referred to in military jargon as Military Secretary at Headquarters. In 1964 it became Military Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence.<ref>[http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/ANDERSON9.shtml Sir John Anderson] Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives</ref>

In 1995 a new Army Personnel Centre was established in [[Glasgow]] with the Military Secretary as its [[Chief Executive]].<ref>[http://www.libertinesecurity.com/davidburden.php Libertine Security]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Military Secretaries==
Holders of the post have included:<ref>[http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf Army Commands] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211343/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf |date=2015-07-05 }}</ref>
*Colonel [[Robert Brownrigg]], 1795–1803
*Colonel [[William Henry Clinton|William Clinton]], 1803–1804
*Lieutenant-Colonel [[James Willoughby Gordon|James Gordon]], 1804–1809
*Major-General Sir [[Henry Torrens (British Army officer, born 1779)|Henry Torrens]], 1809–1820
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Herbert Taylor (British Army officer)|Herbert Taylor]], 1820–1827
*Lieutenant-General Lord [[FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan|FitzRoy Somerset]], 1827–1852
*Colonel [[Richard Airey, 1st Baron Airey|Richard Airey]], 1852–1854
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Charles Yorke (British Army officer)|Charles Yorke]], 1854–1860
*Lieutenant-General [[William Forster (British Army officer)|William Forster]], 1860–1871
*Major-General [[Caledon Egerton]], 1871–1874
*General Sir [[Alfred Horsford]], 1874–1880
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Edmund Whitmore]], 1880–1885
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[George Harman (British Army officer)|George Harman]], 1885–1892
*General Sir [[Reginald Gipps]], 1892–1896
*Major-General Sir [[Coleridge Grove]], 1896–1901
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton|Ian Hamilton]], 1901–1903<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27311 |date=7 May 1901 |page=3127}}</ref>
** ''Lieutenant-General Lord [[Lord William Seymour (British Army officer)|William Seymour]], acting Nov 1901–1902 (while General Hamilton served in South Africa)''<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27376 |date=12 November 1901 |page=7293}}</ref>
*Major-General Sir [[Ronald Lane]], 1903–1904
*Colonel John [[Spencer Ewart]], 1904–1906
*General Sir [[Arthur Wynne (British Army officer)|Arthur Wynne]], 1906–1911
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[William Franklyn (British Army officer)|William Franklyn]], 1911–1914
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Alfred Codrington]], 1914
*Major-General Sir [[Frederick Robb]], 1914–1916
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Francis Davies (British Army officer)|Francis Davies]], 1916–1919
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode|Philip Chetwode]], 1919–1920
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Alexander Godley]], 1920–1922
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[William Peyton]], 1922–1926
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[David Campbell (British Army officer)|David Campbell]], 1926–1927
*Major-General Sir [[Gerald Boyd (British Army officer)|Gerald Boyd]], 1927–1930
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Sidney Clive]], 1930–1934
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Charles Deedes]], 1934–1937
*Major-General [[John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort]], 1937
*Lieutenant-General [[Douglas Brownrigg]], 1938–1939
*Lieutenant-General [[George Giffard]], 1939–1940
*Lieutenant-General [[Arthur Floyer-Acland]], 1940–1942
*General Sir [[Colville Wemyss]], 1942–1946
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Frederick Browning]], 1946–1948
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Charles Keightley]], 1948
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Robert Mansergh]], 1948–1949
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Kenneth McLean]], 1949–1951
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Euan Miller]], 1951–1954
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Colin Callander]], 1954–1957
*General Sir [[Hugh Stockwell]], 1957–1959
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Geoffrey Thompson (British Army officer)|Geoffrey Thompson]], 1959–1961
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[William Stirling (British Army officer, born 1907)|William Stirling]], 1961–1963
*General Sir [[John Anderson (British Army officer)|John Anderson]], 1963–1966
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Richard Elton Goodwin]], 1966–1969
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Thomas Pearson (British Army officer, born 1914)|Thomas Pearson]], 1969–1972
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[John Sharp (British Army officer)|John Sharp]], 1972–1974
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Patrick Howard-Dobson]], 1974–1976
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Robert Ford (British Army officer)|Robert Ford]], 1976–1978
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Robin Carnegie]], 1978–1980
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Roland Guy]], 1980–1983
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[David Mostyn (British Army officer)|David Mostyn]], 1983–1986
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[Patrick Palmer (British Army officer)|Patrick Palmer]], 1986–1989
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[John Learmont]], 1989–1991
*Lieutenant-General Sir [[William Rous (British Army officer)|William Rous]], 1991–1994
*Major-General [[Robert Hayman-Joyce]], 1994–1995
*Major-General [[Michael Scott (British Army officer)|Michael Scott]], 1995–1997
*Major-General [[David Burden]], 1997–1999
*Major-General [[Alistair Irwin]], 1999–2000
*Major-General [[Peter Grant Peterkin]], 2000–2003
*Major-General [[Freddie Viggers]], 2003–2005
*Major-General [[Nicholas Cottam]], 2005–2008
*Major-General [[Mark Mans]], 2008–2009
*Major-General [[David Rutherford-Jones]], 2009–2011
*Major-General [[Andrew Gregory (British Army officer)|Andrew Gregory]], 2011–2013
*Major-General [[Shaun Burley]], 2013–2015
*Major-General [[Nicholas Ashmore]], 2015–2017
*Major-General [[Bob Bruce (British Army officer)|Robert Bruce]], 2017–2019
*Major-General [[Timothy Hyams]], 2019–2021
*Major-General [[William Wright (British Army officer)|William Wright]], 2021–2023
*Major-General [[Robin Lindsay (British Army officer)|Robin Lindsay]], 2023–present<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=64200 |date=17 October 2023 |page=20803 |supp= y}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Military Secretary to the India Office]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Senior appointments of the British Army]]
[[Category:War Office]]
[[Category:War Office in World War II]]