Three Cultures at the Admiralty, c.1800--1945: Naval Staff, The Secretariat and the Arrival of Scientists (2014)
Hamilton, C. I. (Author)
Journal for Maritime Research: Britian, the Sea and Global History
Volume: 16, no. 1
Issue: 1
Pages: 89-102
This story of developing expertise at the Admiralty first briefly traces the rise of the Naval Staff from its beginning in 1883 to proper establishment in 1917, and of the civil service Secretariat over a somewhat longer period. Both came to have similar if complementary functions, including policy-making. The article then turns to naval scientists, who had a longer path to the same end. The First World War brought them a significant presence in numbers and organisation, though they remained poor relations in terms of status and pay, dominated by the practical empiricism of naval officers, and subject to prejudice, amply reciprocated. Improvements came in the 1930s, with rearmament. The `war of science' from 1939 then brought them greater numbers, enhanced reputation, more room to direct their work, and the satisfaction of getting their own naval scientific corps. Moreover, they became more important organisationally, with direct access to the Board of Admiralty, and -- more indicative -- a growing influence in middle- and lower-level committee work, where the principles of merit, initiative, discussion and fundamental research were promoted. One notices a weakening in prejudice and in the long-standing Admiralty attachment to practical empiricism. Much had been achieved by 1945, and though some disgruntlement remained, at least problems about pay and status had largely been addressed.
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