Second Sea Lord

The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (formerly Second Sea Lord) is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer currently to serve in the Royal Navy and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establishments. Originally titled Second Naval Lord in 1830, the post was restyled Second Sea Lord in 1904. They are based at Navy Command, Headquarters.

Office of the Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff
Ensign of the Royal Navy
Incumbent Vice Admiral Martin Connell since 12 January 2022
Ministry of Defence
Abbreviation	2SL/DCNS
Member of	Admiralty Board Navy Board
Reports to	First Sea Lord
Nominator	Secretary of State for Defence
Appointer	Prime Minister Subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council
Term length	Not fixed (typically 4–5 years)
Inaugural holder	Rear Admiral George Dundas
Formation	Second Naval Lord, 1830–1904 Second Sea Lord from 1904

History

In 1805, for the first time, specific functions were assigned to each of the 'Naval' Lords, who were described as 'Professional' Lords, leaving to the 'Civil' Lords the routine business of signing documents.^[1] The Second Naval Lord was the second most senior Naval Lord on the Board of Admiralty and as Chief of Naval Personnel was responsible for handling all personnel matters for the Royal Navy. In 1917 the title was changed to the Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel by an order in council dated 23 October.^[2]

The posts of Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command (CINCNAVHOME) were amalgamated in 1994 in the reductions of the British Armed Forces following the end of the Cold War.^[3] The original post of Commander-in-Chief, Naval Home Command had been created on 1 July 1969, as a result of the merger of the posts of Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth and Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.^[4]

2SL is based in Portsmouth in a combined headquarters with the Fleet Commander on Whale Island.^[5] Until October 2012, he flew his flag from HMS Victory, the world's oldest commissioned warship, which is preserved in dry dock in Portsmouth.^[6] The right to use HMS Victory as a flagship came from his position as CINCNAVHOME, who in turn acquired it from the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth. Since October 2012, distinct Commander-in-Chief posts have been discontinued and full command responsibility is vested in the First Sea Lord, who now flies his flag from Victory; this change formed part of the Levene reforms which were implemented at that time.^[7]

In 2016 the post was retitled Second Sea Lord & Deputy Chief of Naval Staff and defined as "responsible for the delivery of the Naval Service’s current and future personnel, equipment and infrastructure".^[8]

Second Naval Lords, 1830–1904

Second Naval Lords include:^[9]

• Rear Admiral George Dundas, 1830–1834
• Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker, 1834
• Vice-Admiral Sir John Beresford, 1835–1841
• Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker, 1835–1841
• Rear Admiral Sir Edward Troubridge, 1841
• Vice-Admiral Sir William Gage, 1841–1846
• Vice-Admiral Sir James Dundas, 1846–1847
• Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Prescott, 1847
• Vice-Admiral Sir Maurice Berkeley, 1847–1852
• Vice-Admiral Sir Houston Stewart, 1852
• Vice-Admiral Sir Phipps Hornby, 1852–1853
• Vice-Admiral Sir Maurice Berkeley, 1853–1854
• Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Dundas, 1854–1855
• Vice-Admiral Henry Eden, 1855–1857
• Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Dundas, 1857
• Vice-Admiral Henry Eden, 1857–1858
• Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Dundas, 1858–1859
• Rear Admiral Frederick Pelham, 1859–1861
• Vice Admiral Sir Charles Eden, 1861–1866
• Vice-Admiral Sir Sydney Dacres, 1866–1868
• Vacant, 1868–1872
• Vice Admiral Sir John Tarleton, 1872–1874
• Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Hornby, 1874–1877
• Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Hood 1877–1879
• Admiral The Earl of Clanwilliam, 1879–1880
• Admiral Lord John Hay, 1880–1883
• Admiral Lord Alcester, 1883–1885
• Admiral Sir Anthony Hoskins, 1885–1888
• Vice-Admiral Sir Vesey Hamilton, 1888–1889
• Admiral Sir Henry Fairfax, 1889–1892
• Admiral Sir Frederick Richards, 1892–1893
• Admiral Lord Walter Kerr, 1893–1895
• Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford, 1895–1899
• Admiral Lord Walter Kerr, 1899
• Vice-Admiral Archibald Douglas, 1899–1902
• Admiral Sir John Fisher, 1902–1903

Second Sea Lords, 1904–1917

Second Sea Lords include:^[9]

• Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Drury, 1903–1907
• Admiral Sir William May, 1907–1909
• Vice-Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman, 1909–1911
• Vice-Admiral Sir George Egerton, 1911
• Vice-Admiral Prince Louis of Battenberg, 1911–1912
• Vice-Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, 1912–1914
• Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Hamilton, 1914–1916
• Vice-Admiral Sir Somerset Gough-Calthorpe, 1916
• Admiral Sir Cecil Burney, 1916–1917

Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel 1917–1995

• Admiral Sir Rosslyn Wemyss, 1917
• Vice-Admiral Sir Herbert Heath, 1917–1919
• Admiral Sir Montague Browning, 1919–1920
• Admiral Sir Henry Oliver, 1920–1924
• Vice-Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 1924–1925
• Vice-Admiral Sir Hubert Brand, 1925–1927
• Admiral Sir Michael Hodges, 1927–1930
• Admiral Sir Cyril Fuller, 1930–1932
• Admiral Sir Dudley Pound, 1932–1935
• Admiral Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith, 1935–1938
• Admiral Sir Charles Little, 1938–1941
• Admiral Sir William Whitworth, 1941–1944
• Admiral Sir Algernon Willis, 1944–1946
• Admiral Sir Arthur Power, 1946–1948
• Admiral Sir Cecil Harcourt, 1948–1950
• Admiral Sir Alexander Madden, 1950–1953
• Admiral Sir Guy Russell, 1953–1955
• Admiral Sir Charles Lambe, 1955–1957
• Vice-Admiral Sir Deric Holland-Martin, 1957–1959
• Admiral Sir St John Tyrwhitt, 1959–1961
• Admiral Sir Royston Wright, 1961–1965
• Admiral Sir Desmond Dreyer, 1965–1967
• Admiral Sir Peter Hill-Norton, 1967
• Admiral Sir Frank Twiss, 1967–1970
• Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Lewis, 1970–1971
• Admiral Sir Derek Empson, 1971–1974
• Admiral Sir David Williams, 1974–1977
• Admiral Sir Gordon Tait, 1977–1979
• Admiral Sir Desmond Cassidi, 1979–1982
• Admiral Sir Simon Cassels, 1982–1986
• Admiral Sir Richard Fitch, 1986–1988
• Admiral Sir Brian Brown, 1988–1991
• Admiral Sir Michael Livesay, 1991–1992
• Admiral Sir Michael Layard, 1992–1995

Second Sea Lords and Commanders-in-Chief Naval Home Command, 1995–2012

From 1995 to 2012 the Second Sea Lord was (as Commander-in-Chief) based in Admiralty House within HMNB Portsmouth (note the Vice-Admiral's flag in this 2006 photo).

Second Sea Lords and Commanders-in-Chief include:^[9]

Rank	Name	Image	In office
Admiral	Sir Michael Boyce		1995–1997
Admiral	Sir John Brigstocke		1997–2000
Vice-Admiral	Sir Peter Spencer		2000–2003
Admiral	Sir James Burnell-Nugent		2003–2005
Vice-Admiral	Sir Adrian Johns		2005–2008
Vice-Admiral	Sir Alan Massey		2008–2010
Vice-Admiral	Sir Charles Montgomery		2010–2012[10]

Second Sea Lords and Chiefs of Naval Personnel and Training, 2012–2015

Rank	Name	Image	In office
Vice Admiral	Sir Charles Montgomery		2012 (and see above)
Vice Admiral	Sir David Steel		2012–2015

Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, 2015–present

See: Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff

Rank	Name	Image	In office
Vice Admiral	Sir Jonathan Woodcock		2SL: 2015–2018, Deputy CNS: 2016–2018
Vice Admiral	Tony Radakin		2018–2019
Vice Admiral	Nick Hine		2019–2022
Vice Admiral	Martin Connell		2022–present

Departments under the office

As of September 2020:^[11][12]

Current

• Director People and Training, previously the Naval Secretary^[13]
• Director Development, previously the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Capability)^[13][12][14]
• Office of the Assistant Chief (Policy)^[12]
• Office of the Director of Personnel and Training & Office of the Naval Secretary^[12]
• Director Navy Acquisition^[12]

Former

Included:^{[15][16][17][18]}

• Admiralty Interview Board
• Naval Careers Service
• Naval Education Service
• Office of the Medical Director-General (Naval)
• Royal Navy Medical Service
• Royal Naval Hospital
• Office the Director Naval Nursing Service
• Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service
• Royal Naval Reserve
• Royal Marines Reserve
• Department of the Director Combined Operations Personnel
• Department of the Director Naval Education
  • Britannia Royal Naval College
  • Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
  • Royal Naval College, Greenwich
  • Royal Naval College (Portsmouth)
  • Royal Naval War College
• Department of the Engineer Rear Admiral Assistant
• Department of the Paymaster Director General
• Department of the Director General Medical Services
• Department of the Director General Supply & Secretariat Branch
• Department of the Director of Air Personnel
• Department of the Paymaster Director-General
• Department of the Director Physical Training & Sport
• Department of the Director of Personnel Services
• Department of the Director Welfare Conditions
• Department of the Director of Manning
• Department of the Director Recruiting
• Department of the Director Service Conditions
• Department of the Director of Training
• Directorate General Training, (1960–1969)
• Directorate-General Naval Manpower and Training (1972–1994)
• Department of the Engineer-in-chief, as regards personnel
• Medical Director-General of the Navy
  • Dental Examining Board
  • Medical Consultative Board
  • Medical Examining Board
• Naval Intelligence Department, as regards mobilisation of the fleet
• Naval Mobilisation Department, as regards personnel
• Office of the Admiral Commanding, Coastguard and Reserves
• Office of the Admiral Commanding Reserves, as regards personnel
• Office of the Admiral Superintendent, Naval Reserves, as regards personnel
• Office of the Adviser on Education
• Office of the Chief of Staff, Reserves
• Office of the Controller of the Coastguard
• Office of the Deputy Adjutant General Royal Marines
• Office of the Adjutant General Royal Marines
• Office of the Chaplain of the Fleet, as regards naval schools
• Office of the Engineer Rear Admiral for Personnel Duties
• Royal Naval Academy
• Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
• Statistics Department

See also

• First Sea Lord
• Third Sea Lord
• Fourth Sea Lord
• Fifth Sea Lord

References

1. "Sainty, JC, Lord High Admiral and Commissioners of the Admiralty 1660–1870', Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4: Admiralty Officials 1660–1870 (1975), pp. 18–31". Retrieved 4 September 2009.
2. Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "Second Sea Lord – The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell, 5 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
3. Admiral Sir Michael Layard, KCB, CBE
4. History in Portsmouth Archived 27 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
5. Royal Navy Command and Organisation
6. Oscar Makes 99th Commanding Officer for HMS Victory
7. Levene of Portsoken, Lord (1 June 2011). "An independent report into the structure and management of the Ministry of Defence" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
8. "Second Sea Lord". Royal Navy. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
9. Senior Royal Navy Appointments Archived 15 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
10. "Government, People, Sir Charles Montgomery, Biography, Career". gov.uk. H.M. Government, UK. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
11. "The Navy Directory 2019" (PDF). royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
12. "How Defence Works Version 6.0 Sep2020" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. UK MOD. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020. page 28
13. "Freedom of Information Response" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
14. "Director Develop or Director Development in Navy Command" (PDF). whatdotheyknow.com. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020. n response toyour request,I can advise that the position of Director Develop is held by Rear Admiral Andrew Burns.
15. Archives, The National. "Records of the Surveyor of the Navy and successors". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1620–1979. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
16. Hamilton, Sir Vesey. "Naval Administration – Part II. – Chapter II". pdavis.nl. Sir Vesey Hamilton, 1896. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
17. Watson, Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation in World War 2, 1939–1945". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 19 September 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
18. Hamilton, C. I. (2011). The Making of the Modern Admiralty: British Naval Policy-Making, 1805–1927. Cambridge University Press. p. 292. ISBN 9781139496544.