# Secretary at War

The Secretary at War was a political position in the English and later British government, with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the Army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office. After 1794 it was occasionally a Cabinet-level position, although it was considered of subordinate rank to the Secretary of State for War. The position was combined with that of Secretary of State for War in 1854 and abolished in 1863.
Notable holders of the position include Robert Walpole, Henry Pelham, Henry Fox, Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, William Windham and Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay.

## Secretaries at War, 1661–1854

| Name | Entered office | Left office |
| Sir William Clarke | 1661 | 1666 |
| Matthew Locke | 1666 | 1683 |
| William Blathwayt | 1683 | 1692 |
| George Clarke | 1692 | 1704 |
| Henry St John | 1704 | 1708 |
| Robert Walpole | 1708 | 1710 |
| George Granville | 1710 | 1712 |
| Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet | 1712 | 1713 |
| Francis Gwyn | 1713 | 1714 |
| William Pulteney | 1714 | 1717 |
| James Craggs the Younger | 1717 | 1718 |
| Christopher Wandesford, 2nd Viscount Castlecomer | 1718 | 1718 |
| Robert Pringle | 1718 | 1718 |
| George Treby | 1718 | 1720 |
| Thomas Trevor | 1720 | 1724 |
| Henry Pelham | 1724 | 1730 |
| Sir William Strickland, 4th Baronet | 1730 | 1735 |
| Sir William Yonge, 4th Baronet | 1735 | 1741 |
| Thomas Winnington | 1741 | 1746 |
| Henry Fox | 1746 | 1755 |
| William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington | 1755 | 1761 |
| Charles Townshend | 1761 | 1762 |
| Welbore Ellis | 1762 | 1765 |
| William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington | 1765 | 1778 |
| Charles Jenkinson | 1778 | 1782 |
| Thomas Townshend | 1782 | 1782 |
| Sir George Yonge, 5th Baronet | 1782 | 1783 |
| Richard FitzPatrick | 1783 | 1783 |
| Sir George Yonge, 5th Baronet | 1783 | 1794 |
| William Windham | 1794 | 1801 |
| Charles Philip Yorke | 1801 | 1803 |
| Charles Bragge | 1803 | 1804 |
| William Dundas | 1804 | 1806 |
| Richard FitzPatrick | 1806 | 1807 |
| Sir James Murray-Pulteney, 7th Baronet | 1807 | 1809 |
| Lord Granville Leveson-Gower | 1809 | 1809 |
| Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston | 1809 | 1828 |
| Sir Henry Hardinge | 1828 | 1830 |
| Lord Francis Leveson-Gower | 1830 | 1830 |
| Charles Williams-Wynn | 1830 | 1831 |
| Sir Henry Parnell, 4th Baronet | 1831 | 1832 |
| Sir John Hobhouse, 2nd Baronet | 1832 | 1833 |
| Edward Ellice | 1833 | 1834 |
| John Charles Herries | 1834 | 1835 |
| Henry Grey, Viscount Howick | 1835 | 1839 |
| Thomas Babington Macaulay | 1839 | 1841 |
| Sir Henry Hardinge | 1841 | 1844 |
| Sir Thomas Fremantle, 1st Baronet | 1844 | 1845 |
| Sidney Herbert | 1845 | 1846 |
| Fox Maule | 1846 | 1852 |
| Robert Vernon Smith | 1852 | 1852 |
| William Beresford | 1852 | 1852 |
| Sidney Herbert | 1852 | 1854 |

## Secretaries of State for War and Secretaries at War, 1854–1863

| Name | Entered office | Left office |
| Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle | 1854 | 1855 |
| Fox Maule-Ramsay, Baron Panmure | 1855 | 1858 |
| Jonathan Peel | 1858 | 1859 |
| Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea | 1859 | 1861 |
| Sir George Cornewall Lewis, 2nd Baronet | 1861 | 1863 |