Department of the Director of Dockyards

Last updated
Department of the Director of Dockyards
Naval Ensign of Great Britain (1707-1800).svg
Agency overview
Formed1872
Preceding agency
Dissolved1964
Superseding agency
  • Dockyards and Fleet Maintenance Department
Jurisdiction Government of the United Kingdom
Headquarters Admiralty
London
Agency executives
  • Director-General of Dockyards
  • Director of Dockyards
  • Director of Fleet Maintenance
  • Director of Marine Services
Parent department Admiralty

The Department of the Director of Dockyards, [1] also known as the Dockyard Branch [2] and later as the Dockyards and Fleet Maintenance Department, [3] was the British Admiralty department responsible from 1872 to 1964 for civil administration of dockyards, the building of ships, the maintenance and repair of ships at dockyards and factories, and the supervision of all civil dockyard personnel.

Contents

History

Originally, responsibility for the civil management of Royal Navy Dockyards lay with the Navy Board, and in particular the Surveyor of the Navy who supervised the Navy Board's resident commissioners of the navy based at each individual yard. Following the abolition of the Navy Board in 1832, responsibility for administration of the yards passed to the Board of Admiralty. [4] The resident commissioners were replaced by yard superintendents, however they were primarily responsible for military administration of the yards.

The Surveyor of the Navy survived the re-organisation until 1869, when his office was merged with that of the Third Naval Lord to become Controller of the Navy. [5] Between 1850 and 1861, the dockyards had been subject to an investigation into management practices; the committee responsible for the investigation concluded that under the existing system was completely inefficient. [6] In 1872, to ease the burden of work on the Controller and to action reforms suggested by the inquiry, a Surveyor of Dockyards was appointed to answer these criticisms. He was originally supervised by the Director of Naval Construction, who was responsible for both design and construction, and also dockyard work.

In December 1885 the post of Surveyor of Dockyards was abolished and replaced by a Director of Dockyards. [7] The new Director was instructed to visit the dockyards frequently, "for the purpose of conferring personally with the superintendents and officers in regard to the ships and works in progress." [8] However, inefficiencies led to a recommendation by George Robinson, Lord Ripon in which he suggested there should be a separation of the functions and duties of the naval design and construction branches, which would remain distinct from each other, [9] and that the branches should both coordinate and operate a sort of checks and balance system. [10] A set of instructions issued on 28 May 1886 communicated that the Director of Dockyards would no longer be subordinate to the Director of Naval Construction. [11] Instead, he was made solely responsible to the Controller for the building of ships at dockyards, and for the maintenance and repair of ships, of boats, and of all steam machinery in ships, boats, dockyards, and factories. [12] In 1892 the post of Director of Dockyards was changed to Director of Dockyards and Works until 1913, when it was again renamed to Director of Dockyards and Repair.

During and after World War One, from 1917 to 1919, further restructuring with the Admiralty took place with the creation of the post of Deputy Controller for Dockyards and Shipbuilding, to which the Director of Dockyards and Repairs would now report to. The department under this name would remain in place until 1957, when it was renamed Dockyards and Fleet Maintenance Department under the control of a Director-General until 1964. [13] Following the merger of the Admiralty into a new and much larger Ministry of Defence under the Navy Department, it was again renamed as the Department of Dockyards and Maintenance until 1968. [14] In 1969, overall responsibility for dockyards changed, and now came under the control of a new Chief Executive, Royal Dockyards. [15] who was head of the Royal Dockyards Management Board. [16]

Duties

A director's duties included: [17]

Incumbents

Head of Department included:

Surveyor of Dockyards

Director of Dockyards

Director of Dockyards and Works

Director of Dockyards and Repair

Director-General of Dockyards and Maintenance

Note: RADM Haynes remained as Director-General, Dockyards and Maintenance with the new Ministry of Defence from May 1964 until 1969.

Structure of Department

As of Spring 1962 [36]

Dockyard Division

Fleet Maintenance Division

Marine Services Division

Naval Dockyards

Yards operating from 1860 onward during the existence of this department included. [37]

Timeline

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Controller of the Navy (Royal Navy)</span>

The post of Controller of the Navy was originally created in 1859 when the Surveyor of the Navy's title changed to Controller of the Navy. In 1869 the controller's office was abolished and its duties were assumed by that of the Third Naval Lord whose title then changed to Third Naval Lord and Controller of the Navy. In 1904 the title was changed again to Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy. In 1965 the office of the Third Sea Lord was abolished. The post-holder is responsible for procurement and matériel in the British Royal Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Fleet (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The Atlantic Fleet was a naval fleet of the Royal Navy. It existed for two separate periods; 1909 until 1914, and then 1919 until 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourth Sea Lord</span>

The Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Supplies originally known as the Fourth Naval Lord was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty which controlled the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom the post is currently known as Chief of Materiel (Fleet). As of 2017, it is also known as Chief of Fleet Support, Chief of Materiel (Ships) then as of 2020, Director General Ships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifth Sea Lord</span>

The Fifth Sea Lord was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty that controlled the Royal Navy. The post's incumbent had responsibility for naval aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel Fleet</span> Military unit

The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Board of Admiralty</span> Authority with administrative and operational control of the Royal Navy

The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requirements of the Royal Navy; at that point administrative control of the navy was still the responsibility of the Navy Board, established in 1546. This system remained in place until 1832, when the Board of Admiralty became the sole authority charged with both administrative and operational control of the navy when the Navy Board was abolished. The term Admiralty has become synonymous with the command and control of the Royal Navy, partly personified in the Board of Admiralty and in the Admiralty buildings in London from where operations were in large part directed. It existed until 1964 when the office of First Lord of the Admiralty was finally abolished and the functions of the Lords Commissioners were transferred to the new Admiralty Board and the tri-service Defence Council of the United Kingdom.

The Second Fleet was a reserve formation of the Royal Navy that briefly existed before the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiralty War Staff</span>

The Admiralty War Staff was the former senior naval staff operational planning organisation within the British Admiralty that existed from 1912 to 1917. It was instituted on 8 January 1912 by Winston Churchill in his capacity as First Lord of the Admiralty and was in effect a war council whose head reported directly to the First Sea Lord. After the First World War ended, the War Staff was replaced by the Admiralty Naval Staff department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department of the Accountant-General of the Navy</span>

The Department of the Accountant-General of the Navy also known as Accountant-General's Department was the department charged by the British Government with reviewing all naval estimates, conducting naval audits and processing payments from 1829 to 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Additional Civil Lord of the Admiralty</span> Former British government official

The Additional Civil Lord of the Admiralty or formally the Office of the Additional Civil Lord of the Admiralty sometimes called the Department of the Additional Civil Lord of the Admiralty was a member of the Board of Admiralty first from 1882 to 1885 and then again from 1912 to 1919 who was mainly responsible for administration of contracts for matériel for the Fleet, supervision of the contracts and purchase department and general organisation of dockyards within the Admiralty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Ordnance Department</span>

The Naval Ordnance Department, also known as the Department of the Director of Naval Ordnance, was a former department of the Admiralty responsible for the procurement of naval ordnance of the Royal Navy. The department was managed by a Director, supported by various assistants and deputies; it existed from 1891 to 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department of the Director of Naval Equipment</span>

The Department of the Director of Naval Equipment also known as the Directorate of Naval Equipment was the former British Admiralty department responsible for managing the progress of all naval construction at royal naval dockyards, and annually planning programmes of works for additions, alterations, repairs and modernisation established in 1912 until 1960 when it was replaced by the Naval Equipment Division of the Ship Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Stores Department (Royal Navy)</span>

The Naval Stores Department also known as the Department of the Director of Naval Stores was initially a subsidiary department of the British Department of Admiralty, then later the Navy Department responsible for managing and maintaining naval stores and the issuing of materials at naval dockyards and establishments for the building, fitting and repairing of Royal Navy warships from 1869 to 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunnery Division (Royal Navy)</span>

The Gunnery Division was a Directorate of the Admiralty Naval Staff of the Royal Navy responsible for the tactical use of naval weapons and the training of naval personnel in relation to operational requirements. It was established in 1920 when the Gunnery and Torpedo Division was separated into an independent Gunnery Division and Torpedo Division. It existed until 1964 when the Department of Admiralty was abolished and replaced by a new Ministry of Defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victualling Department (Royal Navy)</span>

The Victualling Department originally known as the Department of the Comptroller of Victualling and Transport Services or the Victualling Office, also known as the Department of the Director of Victualling was the British Admiralty department responsible for civil administration of Victualling Yards and the storing and supply of Naval Victuals for the Royal Navy from 1832 to 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiral Commanding, Reserves</span>

The Admiral Commanding, Reserves, was a senior Royal Navy post that existed from 1875 to 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Principal naval transport officer (Royal Navy)</span> British naval officer rank

In the Royal Navy, a principal naval transport officer (P.N.T.O.) later known as principal sea transport officer (P.S.T.O.) is a shore-based flag officer or captain responsible for sea transport duties, and assisting the senior naval officer's area of command in the preparation of naval orders and conduct disembarkations. British Dominion Navies also used the concept.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Sea and Caspian Squadron</span> Military unit

The Black Sea and Caspian Squadron, also known as the Black Sea and Marmora Force and the Black Sea and Marmora Division, was a naval formation of the British Mediterranean Fleet from 1918 to 1919.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea Transport Branch (Board of Trade)</span>

The Sea Transport Branch of the British Board of Trade, originally established as the Transport Department or Naval Transport Department, was a logistical branch of the Department of Admiralty responsible for the provision of naval transportation services. It underwent numerous name changes throughout its complicated history with responsibility for sea transportation, known as the Department of the Director of Transports from 1890.

References

Citations

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Sources