Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty
The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, also known as the Board of the Admiralty,
were a group of officers concerned with the affairs of the Royal Navy. King Edward
VI commissioned a group of officers of Marine Causes
in 1546 under the Lord High Admiral. They were responsible for materials, non-combatant personnel,
warrant officers and ratings, and the civil administration of the Navy.
On the death of the Duke of Buckingham in 1628, the acting Lord High Admiral in the late-16th century, his office was put into commission.
It was then that six Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were appointed to execute
his office jointly. This varied throughout the years as occasionally the position
of Lord High Admiral was revived. It was not until 1708 that the Board of Admiralty became the primary and normal instrument
for governing the Navy.
This Naval Board was abolished in 1832, influencing the Board of Admiralty to be redesigned. It then consisted of a particular
group of people: a First Lord, four naval lords (known from 1904 as Sea Lords), and a Civil Lord with a parliamentary and permanent secretary. Each
Sea Lord had specific responsibilities such as: naval strategy, mobilization, medical
departments, transport, and material departments.
The Board of Admiralty remained unchanged until 1 April 1964 when they changed its name to the “Admiralty Board of the Defence Council of the
Ministry of Defence.”