The Military Secretary is the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
office with responsibility for appointments, promotion, postings and discipline of high ranking officers of the British Army. It is a senior British Army appointment, held by an officer holding the rank of
major-general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
. The position of Deputy Military Secretary is held by an officer holding the rank of
brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...
. The Military Secretary's counterpart in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
is the
Naval Secretary
The Naval Secretary is the Royal Navy officer who advises the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff on naval officer appointing (and General Officers).
Their counterpart in the British Army is the Military Secretary. The Royal Air Force equi ...
. The
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
equivalent is the
Air Secretary
The Air Secretary and Chief of Staff, Personnel is the Royal Air Force officer with responsibility for appointments, promotions, postings, and discipline of high ranking members of the British air force. From 1978 to 1983 the Air Secretary was ...
.
The post was initially established as the Public Secretary or Military Secretary to the
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
The Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, later Commander-in-Chief, British Army, or just the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), was (intermittently) the professional head of the English Army from 1660 to 1707 (the English Army, founded in 1645, was succ ...
in 1795 (prior to which a civilian had served as Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief).
The title was formally changed to Military Secretary to the Secretary of State for War in 1904. 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.
In 1995 a new Army Personnel Centre was established in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
with the Military Secretary as its
Chief Executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
.
Military Secretaries
Holders of the post have included:
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Colonel Robert Brownrigg, 1795–1803
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Colonel William Clinton, 1803–1804
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Lieutenant-Colonel James Gordon, 1804–1809
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Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, 1809–1820
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Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Taylor, 1820–1827
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Lieutenant-General Lord FitzRoy Somerset, 1827–1852
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Colonel Richard Airey, 1852–1854
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Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Yorke, 1854–1860
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Lieutenant-General William Forster, 1860–1871
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Major-General Caledon Egerton, 1871–1874
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General Sir Alfred Horsford, 1874–1880
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Lieutenant-General Sir Edmund Whitmore, 1880–1885
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Lieutenant-General Sir George Harman, 1885–1892
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General Sir Reginald Gipps, 1892–1896
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Major-General Sir Coleridge Grove, 1896–1901
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Lieutenant-General Sir Ian Hamilton, 1901–1903
** ''
Lieutenant-General Lord William Frederick Ernest Seymour, acting Nov 1901–1902 (while General Hamilton served in South Africa)''
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Major-General Sir Ronald Lane, 1903–1904
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Colonel John Spencer Ewart, 1904–1906
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General Sir Arthur Wynne, 1906–1911
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Lieutenant-General Sir William Franklyn, 1911–1914
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Lieutenant-General Sir Alfred Codrington, 1914
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Major-General Sir Frederick Robb, 1914–1916
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Lieutenant-General Sir Francis Davies, 1916–1919
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Lieutenant-General Sir Philip Chetwode, 1919–1920
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Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander Godley, 1920–1922
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Lieutenant-General Sir William Peyton, 1922–1926
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Lieutenant-General Sir David Campbell, 1926–1927
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Major-General Sir Gerald Boyd, 1927–1930
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Lieutenant-General Sir Sidney Clive, 1930–1934
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Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Deedes, 1934–1937
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Major-General The Viscount Gort, 1937
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Lieutenant-General Douglas Brownrigg, 1938–1939
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Lieutenant-General George Giffard, 1939–1940
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Lieutenant-General Arthur Floyer-Acland, 1940–1942
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General Sir Colville Wemyss, 1942–1946
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Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Browning, 1946–1948
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Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Keightley, 1948
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Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Mansergh, 1948–1949
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Lieutenant-General Sir Kenneth McLean, 1949–1951
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Lieutenant-General Sir Euan Miller, 1951–1954
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Lieutenant-General Sir Colin Callander, 1954–1957
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General Sir Hugh Stockwell, 1957–1959
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Lieutenant-General Sir Geoffrey Thompson, 1959–1961
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Lieutenant-General Sir William Stirling, 1961–1963
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General Sir John Anderson, 1963–1966
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Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Goodwin, 1966–1969
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Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Pearson, 1969–1972
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Lieutenant-General Sir John Sharp, 1972–1974
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Lieutenant-General Sir Patrick Howard-Dobson, 1974–1976
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Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Ford, 1976–1978
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Lieutenant-General Sir Robin Carnegie, 1978–1980
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Lieutenant-General Sir Roland Guy, 1980–1983
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Lieutenant-General Sir David Mostyn, 1983–1986
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Lieutenant-General Sir Patrick Palmer, 1986–1989
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Lieutenant-General Sir John Learmont, 1989–1991
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Lieutenant-General Sir William Rous, 1991–1994
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Major-General Robert Hayman-Joyce, 1994–1995
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Major-General Michael Scott, 1995–1997
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Major-General David Burden, 1997–1999
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Major-General Alistair Irwin, 1999–2000
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Major-General Peter Grant Peterkin, 2000–2003
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Major-General Freddie Viggers, 2003–2005
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Major-General Nicholas Cottam, 2005–2008
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Major-General Mark Mans, 2008–2009
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Major-General David Rutherford-Jones, 2009–2011
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Major-General Andrew Gregory, 2011–2013
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Major-General Shaun Burley, 2013–2015
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Major-General Nicholas Ashmore, 2015–2017
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Major General Robert Bruce, 2017–2019
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Major-General Timothy Hyams, 2019–2021
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Major-General William Wright, 2021–present
See also
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Military Secretary to the India Office The Military Secretary to the India Office was responsible for the recruitment of British and other European nationals to the officer ranks of the Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian A ...
References
{{reflist, 2
Senior appointments of the British Army
War Office
War Office in World War II