Abstract
The private secretaries, eventually private offices, of the lords of Admiralty and under-secretaries grew in importance, undertaking one function in particular that proved of value during total war - liaison. A basic division grew between the civilian and the military. By 1939-45, the sea lords’ offices are more properly described as personal military staffs. The private office of the first lord, on the other hand, had developed from a purely personal instrument of the minister’s into a crucial adjunct to the machinery under the permanent secretary, and was even part of a network that spread over Whitehall and beyond.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.