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{{Short description|Former senior British Army officer appointment}}
#REDIRECT [[Commander Home Command]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
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{{British Army}}
The '''Adjutant-General to the Forces''', commonly just referred to as the '''Adjutant-General''' ('''AG'''), was for just over 250 years one of the most senior officers in the [[British Army]]. The AG was latterly responsible for developing the Army's personnel policies and supporting its people.<ref name=review>[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121026065214/www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/DefencePolicyAndBusiness/ArmyConductsTopLevelOrganisationalReview.htm Army conducts Top Level Organisational Review] Defence News, 9 December 2009</ref> The Adjutant-General usually held the rank of [[general]] or [[lieutenant general]]. Despite his administrative role, the Adjutant-General, like most officers above the rank of [[major general]], was invariably drawn from one of the combat arms, not from the support [[corps]].

==History==
In origin the [[Adjutant]]-General was chief [[staff officer]] to the [[Commander-in-Chief of the Forces]].<ref name="Roper1998" /> The post of Adjutant-General is first recorded in 1673 and it was established on a permanent basis in the [[English Army]] from 1680.<ref name=Roper1998>{{cite book |last1=Roper |first1=Michael |title=The Records of the War Office and Related Departments, 1660-1964 |date=1998 |publisher=Public Record Office |location=Kew, Surrey }}</ref> For a time there were two Adjutants-General, one 'for the [[Foot soldiers|Foot]]' and one 'for the [[Cavalry|Horse]]' until the two were consolidated into a single appointment 'of the Forces' in 1701. Until the passing of the respective [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]] there were [[Scottish Army|Scottish]] and [[Irish Royal Army|Irish]] Adjutants-General; on occasions a separate Adjutant-General would be appointed for deployments overseas; and the [[Board of Ordnance]] had an independent Adjutant-General and Deputy for the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers (respectively) until they were integrated into the British Army in the 1850s.<ref name="Roper1998" />

In the 18th century the Adjutant-General was tasked with issuing orders to the Army, receiving monthly returns from the Regiments, regulation of officers' appointments and [[leave of absence]], and oversight of military reviews, exercises, manoeuvres and matters of discipline.<ref name="Roper1998" /> By the early 1800s the Adjutant-General had responsibility for 'all subjects connected with the Discipline, Equipment and Efficiency of the Army'; the AG also took on general responsibility for recruitment at this time.<ref name="GR&O1811">{{cite book |title=General Regulations and Orders for the Army |date=1811 |publisher=Adjutant General's Office |location=Horse Guards, London |page=47}}</ref> A century later the AG is described as 'a general officer and at the head of his department of the War Office, which is charged with all duties relative to personnel'.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Adjutant-General}}</ref>

In the 20th century the Adjutant-General was the Second Military Member of the [[Army Council (1904)|Army Council]] and its successor 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> Headquarters Adjutant-General was latterly based at the former [[RAF Upavon]], now known as Trenchard Lines, [[Upavon]], [[Wiltshire]]. On 1 April 2008 it amalgamated with [[Commander Land Forces|HQ Land Command]] to form HQ Land Forces under 'Project Hyperion'.<ref>[http://www.drumbeat.org.uk/resources/133JUN08.PDF Drumbeat] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307005327/http://www.drumbeat.org.uk/resources/133JUN08.PDF |date=2012-03-07 }}</ref>

In December 2009 it was announced that the responsibilities of the [[Commander Regional Forces (United Kingdom)|Commander Regional Forces]] (i.e. responsibility for support) would be subsumed within those of the Adjutant-General to the Forces who henceforth would take responsibility for both personnel and support.<ref name=review/> In 2015 the post was re-designated [[Home Command (British Army)|Commander Personnel and Support Command]] (renamed Commander Home Command the following year).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/a-new-painting-marks-armys-relationship-with-scotland-over-last-100-years|title=A new painting marks Army's relationship with Scotland over last 100 years|date=7 October 2005|publisher=Ministry of Defence|access-date=15 November 2015}}</ref> In evidence to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] Defence Committee the [[Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the General Staff]] explained:
:"In my new operating model, I no longer have an Adjutant-General. The reason that I do not have an Adjutant-General is that effectively I am the Adjutant-General. People matter so much to me that I have put that at the heart of my agenda. I am the first CGS ever to have done that."<ref>{{cite web|title=Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 and the Army|url=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/defence-committee/sdsr-2015-and-the-army/oral/34418.html|website=parliament.uk|access-date=16 June 2016}}</ref> (14 June 2016)

The appointment of a Deputy Adjutant-General is first recorded in 1757, with Assistant Adjutants-General being appointed from 1806.<ref name="Roper1998" />

== List of Adjutants-General to the Forces ==
Holders of the post include:<ref>[http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf Army Commands] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211343/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf |date=July 5, 2015 }}</ref>
*1743–1748 Colonel [[Charles Ingram (British Army officer)|Charles Ingram]]
*1763–1778 Lieutenant-General [[Edward Harvey (British Army officer)|Edward Harvey]]
*1778–1781 Lieutenant-General [[William Amherst (British Army officer)|William Amherst]]
*1781–1799 General [[William Fawcett (British Army officer)|Sir William Fawcett]]
*1799–1820 Lieutenant-General [[Harry Calvert|Sir Harry Calvert]]
*1820–1828 Major-General [[Henry Torrens (British Army officer)|Sir Henry Torrens]]
*1828–1830 Lieutenant-General [[Herbert Taylor (British Army officer)|Sir Herbert Taylor]]
*1830–1850 Lieutenant-General [[John Macdonald (British Army officer, died 1850)|Sir John Macdonald]]
*1850–1853 General [[George Brown (British Army officer)|Sir George Brown]]
*1853–1854 General [[George Cathcart|Sir George Cathcart]]
*1854–1860 General [[George Augustus Wetherall|Sir George Weatherall]]
*1860–1865 General [[James Yorke Scarlett|Sir James Yorke Scarlett]]
*1865–1870 General [[Lord William Paulet]]
*1870–1876 General [[Richard Airey, 1st Baron Airey|Sir Richard Airey]]
*1876–1882 General [[Charles Ellice|Sir Charles Ellice]]
*1882–1890 General [[Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley|Lord Wolseley]]
*1882 Lieutenant-General [[Richard Taylor (British Army officer)|Sir Richard Taylor]]<ref>Arthur William Alsager Pollock, ''The United service magazine'' (1882), p. 102: "The Adjutant-Generalship. — The appointment of Lieutenant-General R. C. H. Taylor, C.B., to officiate as Adjutant-General to the Forces, during the absence of Sir Garnet Wolseley on special service, is one that cannot fail to afford much satisfaction–the army." Wolseley was overseas–command British forces during the [[1882 Anglo-Egyptian War|Second Anglo-Egyptian War]] of 1882.</ref>
*1890–1897 Lieutenant-General [[Redvers Buller|Sir Redvers Buller]]
*1897–1901 Lieutenant-General [[Evelyn Wood (British Army officer)|Sir Evelyn Wood]]
*1901–1904 Lieutenant-General [[Thomas Kelly-Kenny|Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny]]<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27360 |date=1 October 1901 |page=6400}}</ref>
*1904–1909 Lieutenant-General [[Charles W. H. Douglas|Sir Charles Douglas]]
*1909–1910 Lieutenant-General [[Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton|Sir Ian Hamilton]]
*1910–1914 Lieutenant-General [[Spencer Ewart|Sir Spencer Ewart]]
*1914–1916 Lieutenant-General [[Henry Sclater|Sir Henry Sclater]]
*1916–1918 Lieutenant-General [[Nevil Macready|Sir Nevil Macready]]
*1918–1922 Lieutenant-General [[George Macdonogh|Sir George Macdonogh]]
*1922–1923 Lieutenant-General [[Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode|Sir Philip Chetwode]]
*1923–1927 Lieutenant-General [[Robert Whigham|Sir Robert Whigham]]
*1927–1931 General [[Walter Braithwaite|Sir Walter Braithwaite]]
*1931–1933 General [[Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd|Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd]]
*1933–1935 General [[Cecil Romer|Sir Cecil Romer]]
*1935–1937 General [[Harry Knox|Sir Harry Knox]]
*1937–1939 General [[Clive Gerard Liddell|Sir Clive Liddell]]
*1939–1940 General [[Robert Gordon-Finlayson|Sir Robert Gordon-Finlayson]]
*1940–1941 Lieutenant-General [[Colville Wemyss]]
*1941–1946 General [[Ronald Forbes Adam|Sir Ronald Forbes Adam]]
*1946–1947 General [[Richard O'Connor|Sir Richard O'Connor]]
*1947–1950 General [[James Steele (British Army officer)|Sir James Steele]]
*1950–1953 General [[John Crocker|Sir John Crocker]]
*1953–1956 General [[Cameron Nicholson|Sir Cameron Nicholson]]
*1956–1959 General [[Charles Loewen|Sir Charles Loewen]]
*1959–1960 General [[Hugh Stockwell|Sir Hugh Stockwell]]
*1960–1963 General [[Richard Goodbody|Sir Richard Goodbody]]
*1963–1964 General [[James Cassels (British Army officer)|Sir James Cassels]]
*1964–1967 General [[Reginald Hewetson|Sir Reginald Hewetson]]
*1967–1970 General [[Geoffrey Musson|Sir Geoffrey Musson]]
*1970–1973 General [[John Mogg (British Army officer)|Sir John Mogg]]
*1973–1976 General [[Cecil Blacker|Sir Cecil Blacker]]
*1976–1978 General [[Jack Harman (British Army officer)|Sir Jack Harman]]
*1978–1981 General [[Robert Ford (British Army officer)|Sir Robert Ford]]
*1981–1984 General [[George Cooper (British Army officer)|Sir George Cooper]]
*1984–1986 General [[Roland Guy|Sir Roland Guy]]
*1986–1988 General [[David Mostyn (British Army officer)|Sir David Mostyn]]
*1988–1990 General [[Robert Pascoe|Sir Robert Pascoe]]
*1990–1993 General [[David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham|Sir David Ramsbotham]]
*1993–1995 General [[Michael Wilkes|Sir Michael Wilkes]]
*1995–1997 General [[Michael Rose (British Army officer)|Sir Michael Rose]]
*1997–2000 General [[Alexander Harley|Sir Alexander Harley]]
*2000–2003 Lieutenant-General [[Timothy Granville-Chapman|Sir Timothy Granville-Chapman]]
*2003–2005 Lieutenant-General [[Alistair Irwin|Sir Alistair Irwin]]
*2005–2008 Lieutenant-General [[Freddie Viggers|Sir Freddie Viggers]]
*2008–2009 Lieutenant-General [[Bill Rollo|Sir William Rollo]]
*2009–2012 Lieutenant-General [[Mark Mans|Sir Mark Mans]]
*2012–2015 Lieutenant-General [[Gerald Berragan|Sir Gerald Berragan]]

For subsequent equivalent appointments see [[Home Command (British Army)|Commander Home Command]].

==Deputy Adjutants-General to the Forces==
*1900 to 1902 [[Major-general (British Army)|Major-General]] [[Joseph Henry Laye]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27168|page=1260|date=23 February 1900}}</ref>
*1902 to 1903 [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] [[Arthur Wynne (British Army officer)|Arthur Wynne]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27433|page=3179|date=13 May 1902}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Adjutant general]]
* [[Adjutant General's Corps]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051228103659/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/index.htm Regiments website]

[[Category:Senior appointments of the British Army]]
[[Category:War Office]]
[[Category:War Office in World War II]]

Latest revision as of 16:08, 14 March 2023

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The Adjutant-General to the Forces, commonly just referred to as the Adjutant-General (AG), was for just over 250 years one of the most senior officers in the British Army. The AG was latterly responsible for developing the Army's personnel policies and supporting its people.[1] The Adjutant-General usually held the rank of general or lieutenant general. Despite his administrative role, the Adjutant-General, like most officers above the rank of major general, was invariably drawn from one of the combat arms, not from the support corps.

History[edit]

In origin the Adjutant-General was chief staff officer to the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.[2] The post of Adjutant-General is first recorded in 1673 and it was established on a permanent basis in the English Army from 1680.[2] For a time there were two Adjutants-General, one 'for the Foot' and one 'for the Horse' until the two were consolidated into a single appointment 'of the Forces' in 1701. Until the passing of the respective Acts of Union there were Scottish and Irish Adjutants-General; on occasions a separate Adjutant-General would be appointed for deployments overseas; and the Board of Ordnance had an independent Adjutant-General and Deputy for the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers (respectively) until they were integrated into the British Army in the 1850s.[2]

In the 18th century the Adjutant-General was tasked with issuing orders to the Army, receiving monthly returns from the Regiments, regulation of officers' appointments and leave of absence, and oversight of military reviews, exercises, manoeuvres and matters of discipline.[2] By the early 1800s the Adjutant-General had responsibility for 'all subjects connected with the Discipline, Equipment and Efficiency of the Army'; the AG also took on general responsibility for recruitment at this time.[3] A century later the AG is described as 'a general officer and at the head of his department of the War Office, which is charged with all duties relative to personnel'.[4]

In the 20th century the Adjutant-General was the Second Military Member of the Army Council and its successor the Army Board.[5] Headquarters Adjutant-General was latterly based at the former RAF Upavon, now known as Trenchard Lines, Upavon, Wiltshire. On 1 April 2008 it amalgamated with HQ Land Command to form HQ Land Forces under 'Project Hyperion'.[6]

In December 2009 it was announced that the responsibilities of the Commander Regional Forces (i.e. responsibility for support) would be subsumed within those of the Adjutant-General to the Forces who henceforth would take responsibility for both personnel and support.[1] In 2015 the post was re-designated Commander Personnel and Support Command (renamed Commander Home Command the following year).[7] In evidence to the House of Commons Defence Committee the Chief of the General Staff explained:

"In my new operating model, I no longer have an Adjutant-General. The reason that I do not have an Adjutant-General is that effectively I am the Adjutant-General. People matter so much to me that I have put that at the heart of my agenda. I am the first CGS ever to have done that."[8] (14 June 2016)

The appointment of a Deputy Adjutant-General is first recorded in 1757, with Assistant Adjutants-General being appointed from 1806.[2]

List of Adjutants-General to the Forces[edit]

Holders of the post include:[9]

For subsequent equivalent appointments see Commander Home Command.

Deputy Adjutants-General to the Forces[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Army conducts Top Level Organisational Review Defence News, 9 December 2009
  2. ^ a b c d e Roper, Michael (1998). The Records of the War Office and Related Departments, 1660-1964. Kew, Surrey: Public Record Office.
  3. ^ General Regulations and Orders for the Army. Horse Guards, London: Adjutant General's Office. 1811. p. 47.
  4. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Adjutant-General" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  5. ^ The Army in 1906: A Policy and a Vindication By Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster, Page 481 Bibliobazaar, 2008, ISBN 978-0-559-66499-1
  6. ^ Drumbeat Archived 2012-03-07 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "A new painting marks Army's relationship with Scotland over last 100 years". Ministry of Defence. 7 October 2005. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 and the Army". parliament.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  9. ^ Army Commands Archived July 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Arthur William Alsager Pollock, The United service magazine (1882), p. 102: "The Adjutant-Generalship. — The appointment of Lieutenant-General R. C. H. Taylor, C.B., to officiate as Adjutant-General to the Forces, during the absence of Sir Garnet Wolseley on special service, is one that cannot fail to afford much satisfaction–the army." Wolseley was overseas–command British forces during the Second Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882.
  11. ^ "No. 27360". The London Gazette. 1 October 1901. p. 6400.
  12. ^ "No. 27168". The London Gazette. 23 February 1900. p. 1260.
  13. ^ "No. 27433". The London Gazette. 13 May 1902. p. 3179.
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