Editing Master-General of the Ordnance

{{Short description|Former senior British military officer}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Office of the Master-General of the Ordnance
| body = 
| nativename = 
| insignia = 
| insigniasize = 180px
| insigniacaption = Flag of a military member of the Army Board
| image = 
| imagesize = 
| incumbent = 
| incumbentsince = 
| department = [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]]
| member_of = [[Board of Ordnance]], [[Army Board]]
| reports_to = [[Secretary of State for Defence]]
| nominator = [[Secretary of State for Defence]]
| appointer = ''[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]]''
| appointer_qualified = <small>Subject to formal approval by the [[Queen-in-Council]]</small>
| termlength = Not fixed (usually for life)
| inaugural = [[Nicholas Merbury]]
| formation = 1415–2013
| website = 
}}

The '''Master-General of the Ordnance''' ('''MGO''') was a very senior [[United Kingdom|British]] military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving [[General (United Kingdom)|general]]. The Master-General of the Ordnance was responsible for all British [[artillery]], [[military engineer|engineers]], fortifications, military supplies, transport, field hospitals and much else, and was not subordinate to the [[Commander-in-Chief of the Forces|commander-in chief]] of the British military. In March 2013 the holder was titled as "Director Land Capability and Transformation", but still sat on the [[Army Board]] as Master-General of the Ordnance; in September 2013 the post was eliminated.

==History==
The Office of Armoury split away from the Privy Wardrobe of the Tower (of London) in the early 15th century. The Master of the Ordnance came into being in 1415 with the appointment of [[Nicholas Merbury]] by Henry V. The Office of Ordnance was created by Henry VIII in 1544 and became the [[Board of Ordnance]] in 1597. Its head was the Master-General of the Ordnance; his subordinates included the [[Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance]] and the [[Surveyor-General of the Ordnance]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/5016.php |title=Board of Ordnance |access-date=2012-11-15}}</ref> Before the establishment of a standing army or navy, the Ordnance Office was the only permanent military department in England. In 1764 it established the [[British standard ordnance weights and measurements]] for the artillery, one of the earliest standards in the world.

The position of Master-General was frequently a [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]]-level one, especially in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when it was normally a political appointment. In 1855 the post was discontinued and certain of the ceremonial aspects of the post were subsequently vested in the [[Commander-in-Chief of the Forces]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=22509|page=2003|date=10 May 1861}}</ref> In 1904, the post was re-established, and until 1938 the Master-General of the Ordnance was the Fourth Military Member of the [[Army Board]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=nLdW_vkYPQQC&dq=%22Master-General+of+the+Ordnance%22+Member+of+the+Army+Council&pg=RA5-PA481 ''The Army in 1906: A Policy and a Vindication'' By Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster, Page 481] Bibliobazaar, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-559-66499-1}}</ref>

In 1913, the control of military aviation was separated from the responsibilities of the Master-General of the Ordnance. A new Department of Military Aeronautics was established and [[David Henderson (British Army officer)|Brigadier-General Henderson]] was appointed the first director.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Joubert de la Ferté |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Joubert de la Ferté |year=1955 |title=The Third Service |publisher=Thames and Hudson |location=London |page=15}}</ref>

In March 2013, the holder was titled as "Director Land Capability and Transformation" but still sat on the army board as Master-General of the Ordnance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/230872/hocs_senior_March_13.csv/preview|title=Head Office and Corporate Services senior, as of March 2013|access-date=30 December 2015}}</ref> In September 2013, the post was abolished.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/283136/20131114-hocs-senior-sept-2013.csv/preview|title=Head Office and Corporate Services senior, as of September 2013|access-date=30 December 2015}}</ref>

==Masters of the Ordnance 1415–1544==
{{Expand list|date=August 2008}}
* [[Nicholas Merbury]], 1415–1420 <ref>''[http://www.remuseum.org.uk/corpshistory/rem_corps_part2.htm Corps History - Part 2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204084632/http://www.remuseum.org.uk/corpshistory/rem_corps_part2.htm |date=4 February 2010 }}'' Website of the Royal Engineers' Museum</ref>
* [[John Hampton (died 1472)|John Hampton]] 1429
* William Gloucestre, 1435<ref name=arrows>{{cite book|last1=Skentlebery|first1=Norman|title=Arrows to atom bombs: a history of the Ordnance Board|date=1975|publisher=Ordnance Board|location=London}}</ref>
* Gilbert Par, 1437<ref name=arrows/>
* [[Thomas Vaughan (soldier)|Thomas Vaughan]] 1450
* John Judde 1456–1460 (murdered 1460)
* Philip Herveys c.1461 <ref> {{cite book|title=The Wars of the Roses: Military Activity and English Society, 1452-97|first=Anthony|last=Goodman|page=172}} </ref>
* [[Richard Guildford]] 1485–1494
* Robert Clifford 1495– (died 1508)
* Sir Sampson Norton 1511–1513
* Sir Henry Willoughby 1513
* [[William Skeffington|Sir William Skeffington]] 1529–1535
* Bernardin de Valois (Bernadyne de Wallys) 1536
* [[Christopher Morris (Master of the Ordnance)|Sir Christopher Morris]] 1537–1544

==Masters-General of the Ordnance, 1544–1855==
Source: [http://www.history.ac.uk/publications/office/ordnance-master Institute of Historical Research]
[[File:Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.png|thumb|''[[Portrait of the Duke of Wellington (Lawrence)|Portrait of the Duke of Wellington]]'' by [[Thomas Lawrence]]. Wellington held the post between 1819 and 1827.]]
* Sir [[Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley|Thomas Seymour]] 1544–1547
* Sir [[Philip Hoby]] 1547–1554
* Sir [[Richard Southwell (courtier)|Richard Southwell]] 1554–1559
* [[Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick]] 1560–1585
* Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick jointly with Sir [[Philip Sidney]] 1585–1586
* Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick 1586–1590
* [[Henry Lee (died 1611)|Sir Henry Lee]] 1590–1597
* [[Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex]] 1597–1601
* ''vacant 1601–1603''
* [[Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy|Charles Blount, 1st Earl of Devonshire]] 1603–1606
* ''vacant 1606–1608''
* [[George Carew (Ireland)|George Carew, 1st Lord Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes]] (1626) 1608–1629
* [[Horace Vere|Horace Vere, 1st Lord Vere of Tilbury]] 1629–1634
* [[Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport]] 1634–1661
* Sir [[William Compton (army officer)|William Compton]] 1661–1663
* ''in commission 1664–1670''
::[[William Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley]]
::Sir [[John Duncombe (Bury St Edmunds MP)|John Duncombe]]
::[[Thomas Chicheley]]
* Sir [[Thomas Chicheley]] 1670–1679
* ''in commission 1679–1682''
::Sir [[John Chicheley]]
::[[Sir William Hickman, 2nd Baronet|Sir William Hickman, Bt.]]
::[[Sir Christopher Musgrave, 4th Baronet|Sir Christopher Musgrave, Bt]]
* [[George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth]] 1682–1688
* [[Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg]] 1689–1690
* ''vacant 1690–1693''
* [[Henry Sidney, 1st Earl of Romney]] 1693–1702
* [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough]] 1702–1712
* [[Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers]] 1712
* [[James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton]] 1712
* ''vacant 1712–1714''
* [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough]] 1714–1722
* [[William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan]] 1722–1725
* [[François de La Rochefoucauld, marquis de Montandre]] 1725
* [[John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll]] 1725–1740
* [[John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu]] 1740–1742
* [[John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll]] 1742
* [[John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu]] 1742–1749
* ''vacant 1749–1755''
* [[Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough]] 1755–1758
* ''vacant 1758–1759''
* [[John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier|John Ligonier, 1st Viscount Ligonier]] 1759–1763
* [[John Manners, Marquess of Granby]] 1763–1770
* ''vacant 1770–1772''
* [[George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend|George Townshend, 4th Viscount Townshend]] 1772–1782
* [[Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond]] 1782–1783
* [[George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend|George Townshend, 4th Viscount Townshend]] 1783–1784
* [[Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond]] 1784–1795
* [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis]] 1795–1801
* [[John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham]] 1801–1806
* [[Francis Rawdon Hastings, 2nd Earl of Moira]] 1806–1807
* [[John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham]] 1807–1810
* [[Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave]] 1810–1819
* [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington]] 1819–1827
* [[Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey]] 1827–1828
* [[William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford]] 1828–1830
* Sir [[James Kempt]] 1830–1834
* [[Sir George Murray]] 1834–1835
* Sir [[Richard Hussey Vivian]], 1st Bt. 1835–1841
* [[Sir George Murray]] 1841–1846
* [[Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey]] 1846–1852
* [[Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge]] 1852
* [[FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan|Fitzroy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan]] 1852–1855

== 1855–1894 ==
''The post did not exist for the period 1855 to 1894.

==Inspector-General of the Ordnance 1895 to 1899==
''In 1895 the post was revived, but re-styled Inspector-General.''<br>
Included:<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mackie |first1=Colin |title=SENIOR ARMY APPOINTMENTS from1860 |url=http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf |website=gulabin |publisher=Colin Mackie, February 2017 |access-date=25 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112744/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> 
* Lieutenant-General Sir [[Edwin Markham (British Army officer)|Edwin Markham]], April 1895 – December 1898

==Director-General of the Ordnance 1899 to 1904==
Included:<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mackie |first1=Colin |title=SENIOR ARMY APPOINTMENTS from1860 |url=http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf |website=gulabin |publisher=Colin Mackie, February 2017 |access-date=25 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112744/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> 
* General Sir [[Henry Brackenbury]], February 1899 – February 1904

==Master-General of the Ordnance 1904 to 1938==
Holders of the post have included:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf |title=Army Commands |access-date=12 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112744/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201860-.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref>
* Lieutenant-General Sir [[James Wolfe Murray|James Murray]] (1904–1907)
* Major-General Sir [[Charles Hadden]] (1907–1913)
* Major-General Sir [[Stanley von Donop]] (1913–1916)
* Lieutenant-General Sir [[William Furse]] (1916–1919)
* Lieutenant-General Sir [[John Du Cane]] (1920–1923)
* Lieutenant-General Sir [[Noel Birch]] (1923–1927)
* Lieutenant-General Sir [[Webb Gillman]] (1927–1931)
* Lieutenant-General Sir [[Ronald Charles]] (1931–1934)
* Lieutenant-General Sir [[Hugh Elles]] (1934–1938)

==1939–1958==
The post was abolished by [[Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha|Leslie Hore-Belisha]], the [[Secretary of State for War]], as he perceived it to be a block on production, transferring tank development responsibility to the Director General of Munitions Development. It was not re-instated until 1959.

==Master-General of the Ordnance 1960 to 2013==
* Lieutenant-General Sir [[John Cowley (British Army officer)|John Cowley]] (1960–1962)
* General Sir [[Cecil Sugden]] (1962–1963)
* Lieutenant-General Sir [[Charles Phibbs Jones|Charles Jones]] (1963–1966)
* Lieutenant-General Sir [[Charles Leslie Richardson|Charles Richardson]] (1966–1971)
* General Sir [[Noel Thomas]] (1971–1974)
* General Sir [[John Gibbon (British Army officer)|John Gibbon]] (1974–1977)
* General Sir [[Hugh Beach]] (1977–1981)
* General Sir [[Peter Leng]] (1981–1983)
* General Sir [[Richard Vincent, Baron Vincent of Coleshill|Richard Vincent]] (1983–1987)
* General Sir [[John Stibbon]] (1987–1991)
* General Sir [[Jeremy Blacker]] (1991–1995)
* Lieutenant-General Sir [[Robert Hayman-Joyce]] (1995–1998)
* Major-General [[David Jenkins (British Army officer)|David Jenkins]] (1998–2000)
* Major-General [[Peter Gilchrist (British Army officer)|Peter Gilchrist]] (2000–2004)
* Major-General [[Andrew Figgures]] (2004–2006)
* Major-General [[Dick Applegate]] (June 2006 – November 2006)
* Major-General [[Christopher Wilson (British Army officer)|Chris Wilson]] (2006–2010)
* Major-General [[William Moore (British Army officer)|Bill Moore]] (2010–2011)
''Post holders official dual title was: Director Land Capability and Transformation and Master-General of the Ordnance''
* Major-General [[Nick Pope (British Army officer)|Nick Pope]] (2011–2013)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Master-General Of The Ordnance}}
[[Category:Senior appointments of the British Army]]
[[Category:War Office]]