Secretary of State for War - Definition and Overview

The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, a British cabinet-level position, first applied to Henry Dundas (appointed in 1794). In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854 and remained until 1 April 1964, when the cabinet position (along with that of First Lord of the Admiralty and Secretary of State for Air) was replaced by the Secretary of State for Defence - in charge of a new united Ministry of Defence. The former office of the Secretary of State for War became the that of the new Minister of Defence for the Army.

The Secretary of State headed the War Office and was assisted by a Parliamentary Private Secretary, who was also a Member of Parliament, and a Military Secretary, who was a general.

Secretaries of State for War, 1794-1801

• Henry Dundas (July 11, 1794 - March 17, 1801) (also President of the Board of Control)

Secretaries of State for War, 1854-1966

• Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle (June 12, 1854 - January 30, 1855)
• Fox Maule-Ramsay, 1st Baron Panmure (February 8, 1855 - February 21, 1858)
• Jonathan Peel (February 26, 1858 - June 11, 1859)
• Sidney Herbert (June 18, 1859 - July 22, 1861)
• Sir George Cornewall Lewis (July 23, 1861 - April 13, 1863) (died in office)
• George Robinson, 2nd Earl of Ripon (April 28, 1863 - February 16, 1866)
• Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (February 16, 1866 - June 26, 1866)
• Jonathan Peel (July 6, 1866 - March 8, 1867)
• Sir John Pakington (March 8, 1867 - December 1, 1868)
• Edward Cardwell (December 9, 1868 - February 17, 1874)
• Gathorne Hardy (February 21, 1874 - April 2, 1878)
• Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley (April 2, 1878 - April 21, 1880)
• Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (April 28, 1880 - December 16, 1882)
• Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (December 16, 1882 - June 9, 1885)
• William Henry Smith (June 24, 1885 - January 21, 1886)
• Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Viscount Cranbrook (January 21, 1886 - February 6, 1886)
• Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (February 6, 1886 - July 20, 1886)
• William Henry Smith (August 3, 1886 - January 14, 1887)
• Edward Stanhope (January 14, 1887 - August 11, 1892)
• Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (August 18, 1892 - June 21, 1895)
• Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne (July 4, 1895 - November 12, 1900)
• William St John Brodrick (November 12, 1900 - October 6, 1903)
• Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster (October 6, 1903 - December 4, 1905)
• Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane (1911) (December 10, 1905 - June 12, 1912)
• John Edward Seely (June 12, 1912 - March 30, 1914) (resigned)
• Herbert Henry Asquith (March 30, 1914 - August 5, 1914)
• Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum (August 5, 1914 - July 5, 1916) (died in office)
• David Lloyd George (July 6, 1916 - December 5, 1916) (resigned)
• Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby (December 10, 1916 - April 18, 1918)
• Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner (April 18, 1918 - January 10, 1919)
• Winston Churchill (January 10, 1919 - February 13, 1921)
• Sir Laming Worthington-Evans (February 13, 1921 - October 19, 1922)
• Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby (October 24, 1922 - January 22, 1924)
• Stephen Walsh (January 22, 1924 - November 3, 1924)
• Sir Laming Worthington-Evans (November 6, 1924 - June 4, 1929)
• Thomas Shaw (June 7, 1929 - August 24, 1931)
• Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe (August 25, 1931 - November 5, 1931)
• Douglas McGarel Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham (November 5, 1931 - June 7, 1935)
• Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 3rd Viscount Halifax (June 7, 1935 - November 22, 1935)
• Alfred Duff Cooper (November 22, 1935 - May 28, 1937)
• Leslie Hore-Belisha (May 28, 1937 - January 5, 1940) (dismissed)
• Oliver Stanley (January 5, 1940 - May 11, 1940)
• Anthony Eden (May 11, 1940 - December 22, 1940)
• David Margesson (December 22, 1940 - February 22, 1942)
• Sir P.J. Grigg (February 22, 1942 - July 26, 1945)
• Jack Lawson (August 3, 1945 - October 4, 1946)
• Frederick Bellenger (October 4, 1946 - October 7, 1947)
• Emanuel Shinwell (October 7, 1947 - February 28, 1950)
• John Strachey (February 28, 1950 - October 26, 1951)
• Anthony Henry Head (October 31, 1951 - October 18, 1956)
• John Hugh Hare (October 18, 1956 - January 6, 1958)
• Christopher Soames (January 6, 1958 - July 27, 1960)
• John Profumo (July 27, 1960 - June 5, 1963) (resigned)
• Joseph Godber (June 27, 1963 - October 21, 1963)
• James Ramsden (October 21, 1963 - April 1, 1964)