Secretary of State for War

From British Offices and Honours

Name	Entered office	Left office	Party	Notes
Henry Dundas	11 July 1794	17 March 1801	Tory
see Secretary of State for War and the Colonies	17 March 1801	12 June 1854
The Duke of Newcastle	12 June 1854	30 January 1855	Peelite
The Lord Panmure	8 February 1855	21 February 1858	Whig
Jonathan Peel	26 February 1858	11 June 1859	Conservative
Sidney Herbert	11 June 1859	22 July 1861	Liberal
Sir George Lewis	23 July 1861	13 April 1863	Liberal
The Earl de Grey	28 April 1863	16 February 1866	Liberal
Marquess of Hartington	16 February 1866	26 June 1866	Liberal
Jonathan Peel	6 July 1866	8 March 1867	Conservative
Sir John Pakington	8 March 1867	1 December 1868	Conservative
Edward Cardwell	9 December 1868	17 February 1874	Liberal
Gathorne Hardy	21 February 1874	2 April 1878	Conservative
Sir Frederick Stanley	2 April 1878	21 April 1880	Conservative
Hugh Childers	28 April 1880	16 December 1882	Liberal
Marquess of Hartington	16 December 1882	9 June 1885	Liberal
William Henry Smith	24 June 1885	21 January 1886	Conservative
The Viscount Cranbrook	21 January 1886	6 February 1886	Conservative
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman	6 February 1886	20 July 1886	Liberal
William Henry Smith	3 August 1886	14 January 1887	Conservative
Edward Stanhope	14 January 1887	11 August 1892	Conservative
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman	18 August 1892	21 June 1895	Liberal
The Marquess of Lansdowne	4 July 1895	12 November 1900	Liberal Unionist
St John Brodrick	12 November 1900	6 October 1903	Conservative
Hugh Arnold-Forster	6 October 1903	4 December 1905	Liberal Unionist
Richard Haldane from 1911, the Viscount Haldane	10 December 1905	12 June 1912	Liberal
John Seely	12 June 1912	30 March 1914	Liberal
Herbert Henry Asquith	30 March 1914	5 August 1914	Liberal
The Earl Kitchener	5 August 1914	5 July 1916	Non-party
David Lloyd George	6 July 1916	5 December 1916	Liberal
The Earl of Derby	10 December 1916	18 April 1918	Unionist
The Viscount Milner	18 April 1918	10 January 1919	Unionist
Winston Churchill	10 January 1919	13 February 1921	Liberal
Sir Laming Worthington-Evans	13 February 1921	19 October 1922	Unionist
The Earl of Derby	24 October 1922	22 January 1924	Conservative
Stephen Walsh	22 January 1924	3 November 1924	Labour
Sir Laming Worthington-Evans	6 November 1924	4 June 1929	Conservative
Thomas Shaw	7 June 1929	24 August 1931	Labour
The Marquess of Crewe	25 August 1931	5 November 1931	Liberal
The Viscount Hailsham	5 November 1931	7 June 1935	Conservative
The Viscount Halifax	7 June 1935	22 November 1935	Conservative
Duff Cooper	22 November 1935	28 May 1937	Conservative
Leslie Hore-Belisha	28 May 1937	5 January 1940	National Liberal
Oliver Stanley	5 January 1940	11 May 1940	Conservative
Anthony Eden	11 May 1940	22 December 1940	Conservative
David Margesson	22 December 1940	22 February 1942	Conservative
Sir Percy Grigg	22 February 1942	26 July 1945	Non-party
Jack Lawson	3 August 1945	4 October 1946	Labour
Frederick Bellenger	4 October 1946	7 October 1947	Labour
Emanuel Shinwell	7 October 1947	28 February 1950	Labour
John Strachey	28 February 1950	26 October 1951	Labour
Anthony Head	31 October 1951	18 October 1956	Conservative
John Hare	18 October 1956	6 January 1958	Conservative
Christopher Soames	6 January 1958	27 July 1960	Conservative
John Profumo	27 July 1960	5 June 1963	Conservative
Joseph Godber	27 June 1963	21 October 1963	Conservative
James Ramsden	21 October 1963	1 April 1964	Conservative