Sir William Graham Greene (16 January 1857 – 10 September 1950), known as Sir Graham Greene, was an English civil servant who served as
Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty
The Permanent Secretary of the Admiralty was the permanent secretary at the Admiralty, the department of state in Great Britain responsible for the administration of the Royal Navy. He was head of the Admiralty Secretariat, later known as the '' D ...
from 1911 to 1917, during the time of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Greene, was one of the founders of
Naval Intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
in the First World War and still involved in
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
in the
Second World War
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 ...
.
He was born in
Takeley
__NOTOC__
Takeley is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England.
History
A number of theories have arisen over the origin of the village's name. One believes the village's name was a corruption from the "Teg-Ley" of ...
, Essex,''1911 England Census'' the son of William Greene, of East Lodge, Bedford, and his wife, Charlotte. He was known as Graham, so as not to be confused with his father, and was the uncle of the celebrated author of the same name, who wrote of memorable childhood summers spent at Sir Graham's home, Harston House. He was also the uncle of
Hugh Greene
Sir Hugh Carleton Greene (15 November 1910 – 19 February 1987) was a British television executive and journalist. He was director-general of the BBC from 1960 to 1969.
After working for newspapers in the 1930s, Greene spent most of his later ...
, who served as
Director-General of the BBC
The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC.
The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period of 1927 to 2007) and then the ...
Cheltenham College
("Work Conquers All")
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School
, religion = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Head
, head = Nicola Huggett
...
.
Between 1875 and 1879, he worked first as the family brewery in
Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
, now known as the
Greene King Brewery
Greene King is a large pub retailer and brewer. It is based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The company owns pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by CK Assets in October 2019.
H ...
. He began his career as a civil servant at
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...
in 1879, and two years later he transferred to the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
. In 1887, he became assistant private secretary, serving through to 1892 as under successive
First Lords 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 ...
:
Lord George Hamilton
Lord George Francis Hamilton (17 December 1845 – 22 September 1927) was a British Conservative Party politician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who served as First Lord of the Admiralty and Secretary of State for India.
Backgroun ...
,
George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon
George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon, (24 October 1827 – 9 July 1909), styled Viscount Goderich from 1833 to 1859 and known as the Earl of Ripon in 1859 and as the Earl de Grey and Ripon from 1859 to 1871, was a British po ...
,
John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer
John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer, KG, KP, PC (27 October 1835 – 13 August 1910), known as Viscount Althorp from 1845 to 1857 (and also known as the "Red Earl" because of his distinctive long red beard), was a British Liberal Party polit ...
William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
. Greene was actively involved in the heavy administrative work during a time of considerable reorganisation and expansion of the Navy.
From December 1902 to 1907, he served as Principal Clerk in the department at the Secretary to the Admiralty, and under
John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher
John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, (25 January 1841 – 10 July 1920), commonly known as Jacky or Jackie Fisher, was a British Admiral of the Fleet. With more than sixty years in the Royal Navy, his efforts to reform the service helped t ...
assisted with significant further reorganisation. In 1907, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Admiralty, and in September 1911 succeeded Sir Inigo Thomas as Permanent Secretary. He served in this capacity for six years of "crushing responsibility" in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, as the Admiralty was preparing for and directing massive operations vital to the war effort.
In 1917, the Admiralty and other departments saw significant changes, and Greene was invited to assume the Secretaryship of the
Ministry of Munitions
The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis of ...
. Greene's many years of experience were an asset needed in the new Ministry. He took up his new post in August 1917 and remained at the Ministry of Munitions until his retirement in 1920.
According to ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', Greene "was a conscientious, zealous, and greatly experienced officer, but his modest nature deprived him of the strong personality which might have given him greater influence in the conduct of affairs."
He died unmarried at Harston House,
Harston
Harston is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, located around 5 miles (8 km) south of Cambridge. In 2011, it had a population of 1,740.
Village Sign
The village sign was erected in the Queen's Silver Jubilee yea ...
,
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...