The Trade Division was a Directorate of the British Admiralty, Naval Staff responsible for all matters in relation to U.K. Trade Defence from 1914 until 1928 and then again from 1939 to 1961.

History

Before to 1909 responsibility for Trade Protection lay with the Trade Division that was then part of the

Naval Intelligence Department The Naval Intelligence Department (NID) was the intelligence arm of the British Admiralty from 1887 until 1912 when most of its subsidiary divisions were absorbed during the creation of the Admiralty War Staff department that included a new Nava ...

until August 1909 when following restructuring within that department the division was abolished. In February 1913 discussions took place to enquire about the setting up of a Trade Branch as part of the Operations Division of the

Admiralty War Staff The Admiralty War Staff was the former senior naval staff operational planning organisation within the British Admiralty that existed from 1912 to 1917. It was instituted on 8 January 1912 by Winston Churchill in his capacity as First Lord of ...

. Despite recommendations put forward as to its name and remit the

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

did not agree to its creation until April 1914; he referred to it at this point as the Trade Section In August 1914 the division was formally established as part of the Admiralty War Staff when that department was abolished in May 1917 the division came under the responsibility of the

Admiralty Naval Staff The Admiralty Naval Staff was the former senior command, operational planning, policy and strategy department within the British Admiralty. It was established in 1917 and existed until 1964 when the department of the Admiralty was abolished. It wa ...

. In 1928 the Trade Division was abolished as part of cost savings measures with the Admiralty Friedman, p. 219 and its functions were merged with the Plans Division.Friedman, p. 219 The Trade Division developed rapidly from very small beginnings to one of the largest organisations within the Naval Staff under its own

Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (A.C.N.S.) is a senior appointment in the Royal Navy usually a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7. History The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff was originally directly responsible to the Fir ...

it first operated until 1928 when it was abolished. However the division was revived again with advent of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in May 1939 Friedman, p. 219 and continued to operate through the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

period until 1961 when it was amalgamated with the Operations Division to form a new

Trade and Operations Division (Royal Navy) The Trade and Operations Division (T.O.D.) was a division of the Admiralty Naval Staff created in 1961 following the merger of two former naval staff divisions one for Trade and the other for Operations. The staff division was administered by t ...

in 1961.

Directors duties

Included:Friedman, p. 219 * Control all

British Merchant Navy The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom and comprises the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguar ...

movements. * Direct the execution of arming and equipping of merchant ships during war. * Liaise with the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Trade Protection). * Plan and implement defensive measures to protect British Trade. * Supervise arming and equipping of merchant ships in the event of war. * Superintend division staff.

Directors

Included: * Captain Richard Webb: August 1914-October 1917 * Captain Alan G.Hotham: October 1917-May 1920 * Captain Charles J, C, Little: May 1920-May 1922 * Captain David T. Norris May 1922-April 1924 * Captain

Martin Dunbar-Nasmith Admiral Sir Martin Eric Dunbar-Nasmith, (1 April 1883 – 29 June 1965) was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth force ...

: April 1924-January 1926 * Captain Richard A.S. Hill: January 1926-May 1928 :''Division suspended from 1928 to 1939'' * Captain Maurice J. Mansergh: May 1939-April 1941 * Captain Brian B. Schofield: April 1941-January 1943 * Captain Reginald M. Servaes: January–February 1943 * Captain William D. Stephens: July 1943-July 1945 * Captain Peter Skelton: July 1945-May 1946 * Captain Thomas L. Bratt: May 1946-April 1948 * Captain Robert J. O.Otway-Ruthven: April 1948-May 1950 * Captain Michael B. Laing: May 1950-June 1952 * Captain George A.F. Norfolk: June 1952-June 1954 * Captain Robert J. O.Otway-Ruthven: June 1954-January 1957 * Captain Edmund T. Larken: January 1957-July 1958 * Captain Charles W. Malins: July 1958-July 1961

Deputy directors

Included: * Captain George R.G. Allen: May 1939-August 1942 * Captain Colin J.L. Bittleston: August 1942-June 1943 * Captain Francis B. Lloyd: June–December 1943 * Captain Peter Skelton: December 1943-July 1945

Timeline

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

, Trade Division, (1901-1909). * Board of Admiralty,

, Trade Division, (1914-1917). * Board of Admiralty,

, Trade Division, (1917-1928) * Board of Admiralty, Admiralty Naval Staff, Plans Division, Trade Section, (1928-1939) * Board of Admiralty, Admiralty Naval Staff, Trade Division, (1939-1961).

References

Sources

* Black, Nicholas (2009). The British Naval Staff in the First World War. Boydell Press. . * Friedman, Norman (2014). Naval Anti-Aircraft Guns and Gunnery. Seaforth Publishing. . * Mackie, Colin. (2011). "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865". gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. * Seligmann, Matthew S. (2012). The Royal Navy and the German Threat 1901-1914: Admiralty Plans to Protect British Trade in a War Against Germany. OUP Oxford. .