Secretary of State for War

The Position of Secretary of State for War was a British cabinet level position. It was first created in 1794 for Henry Dundas, but was then changed to that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1801. The position was reinstated in 1854 and remained until 1966. The Secretary of State for War was the chief civilian responsible for the British army.

Secretaries of State for War, 1794-1801

• Henry Dundas 1794 - 1801

Secretaries of State for War, 1854-1966

• Henry Pelham-Clinton, Duke of Newcastle 1854 - 1855
• Fox Maule-Ramsey, Lord Panmure 1855 - 1858
• Jonathan Peel 1858 - 1859
• Sidney Herbert 1859 - 1861
• Sir George Cornewall Lewis 1861 - 1863
• George Robinson, 2nd Earl of Ripon 1865 - 1866
• Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington 1866
• Jonathan Peel 1866 - 1867
• Sir John Pakington 1867 - 1868
• Edward Cardwell 1868 - 1874
• Gathorne Hardy 1874 - 1878
• Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley 1878 - 1880
• Hugh Culling Eardley Childers 1880 - 1882
• Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington 1882 - 1885
• William Henry Smith 1885 - 1886
• Gathorne Hardy, Viscount Cranbrook 1886
• Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman 1886
• William Henry Smith 1886 - 1887
• Edward Stanhope 1887 - 1892
• Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman 1892 - 1895
• Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne[?] 1895 - 1900
• William St. John Brodrick 1900 - 1903
• Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster 1903 - 1905
• Richard Burdon Haldane[?], 1st Viscount Haldane (1911) 1905 - 1912
• John Edward Seely 1912 - 1914
• Herbert Henry Asquith 1914
• Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum[?] 1914 - 1916
• David Lloyd George 1916
• Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby 1916 - 1918
• Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner[?] 1918 - 1919
• Winston Churchill 1919 - 1921
• Sir Laming Worthington-Evans 1921 - 1922
• Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby 1922 - 1924
• Stephen Walsh 1924
• Sir Laming Worthington-Evans 1924 - 1929
• Thomas Shaw 1929 - 1931
• Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe 1931
• Douglas McGarel Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham 1931 - 1935
• Edward Wood, 3rd Viscount Halifax[?] 1935 - 1937
• Leslie Hore-Belisha[?] 1937 - 1940
• Oliver Frederick Stanley 1940
• Anthony Eden 1940
• Henry Reginald Margesson 1940 - 1942
• Sir Percy James Grigg 1942 - 1945
• John Lawson 1945 - 1946
• Frederick Bellenger 1946 - 1947
• Emanuel Shinwell 1947 - 1950
• John Strachey 1950 - 1951
• Anthony Henry Head 1951 - 1956
• John Hugh Hare 1956 - 1958
• Christopher Soames 1958 - 1960
• John Profumo 1960 - 1963
• James Ramsden 1963 - 1964
• Frederick Milley 1964 - 1966
• G.W. Reynolds 1966