The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was responsible for all British artillery, engineers, fortifications, military supplies, transport, field hospitals and much else, and was not subordinate to the commander-in chief of the British military. Between 1855, and 1904, the post did not exist. In March 2013, the holder was titled as "Director Land Capability and Transformation" but still sat on the Army Board as Master-General of the Ordnance. In September 2013, the post was again eliminated.
The Office of Armoury split away from the Privy Wardrobe of the Tower (of London) in the early 15th century. The Master of the Ordnance came into being in 1415 with the appointment of Nicholas Merbury by Henry V. The Office of Ordnance was created by Henry VIII in 1544 and became the Board of Ordnance in 1597. Its head was the Master-General of the Ordnance; his subordinates included the Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance and the Surveyor-General of the Ordnance. Before the establishment of a standing army or navy, the Ordnance Office was the only permanent military department in England. In 1764 it established the British standard ordnance weights and measurements for the artillery, one of the earliest standards in the world.
The position of Master-General was frequently a cabinet-level one, especially in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when it was normally a political appointment. In 1855 the post was discontinued and certain of the ceremonial aspects of the post were subsequently vested in the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. In 1904 the post was re-established and until 1938 the Master-General of the Ordnance was the Fourth Military Member of the Army Board.
In 1913 the control of military aviation was separated from the responsibilities of the Master-General of the Ordnance. A new Department of Military Aeronautics was established and Brigadier-General Henderson was appointed the first director.
In March 2013, the holder was titled as "Director Land Capability and Transformation" but still sat on the army board as Master-General of the Ordnance. After September 2013, this post was eliminated.
Nicholas Merbury, 1415–1420
John Hampton 1429
William Gloucestre, 1435
Gilbert Par, 1437
Thomas Vaughan 1450
John Judde 1456-1460 (murdered 1460)
Philip Herveys c.1461
Richard Guildford 1485–1494
Robert Clifford 1495– (died 1508)
Sir Sampson Norton 1511–1513
Sir Henry Willoughby 1513
Sir William Skeffington 1529–1535
Bernardin de Valois (Bernadyne de Wallys) 1536
Sir Christopher Morris 1537–1544
Source: Institute of Historical Research
Sir Thomas Seymour 1544–1547
Sir Philip Hoby 1547–1554
Sir Richard Southwell 1554–1559
Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick 1560–1585
Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick jointly with Sir Philip Sidney 1585–1586
Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick 1586–1590
Sir Henry Lee 1590–1597
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex 1597–1601
vacant 1601–1603
Charles Blount, 1st Earl of Devonshire 1603–1606
vacant 1606–1608
George Carew, 1st Lord Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes (1626) 1608–1629
Horace Vere, 1st Lord Vere of Tilbury 1629–1634
Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport 1634–1661
Sir William Compton 1661–1663
in commission 1664–1670
Sir Thomas Chicheley 1670–1679
in commission 1679–1682
George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth 1682–1688
Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg 1689–1690
vacant 1690–1693
Henry Sidney, 1st Earl of Romney 1693–1702
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough 1702–1712
Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers 1712
James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton 1712
vacant 1712–1714
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough 1714–1722
William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan 1722–1725
François de La Rochefoucauld, marquis de Montandre 1725
John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll 1725–1740
John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu 1740–1742
John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll 1742
John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu 1742–1749
vacant 1749–1755
Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough 1755–1758
vacant 1758–1759
John Ligonier, 1st Viscount Ligonier 1759–1763
John Manners, Marquess of Granby 1763–1770
vacant 1770–1772
George Townshend, 4th Viscount Townshend 1772–1782
Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond 1782–1783
George Townshend, 4th Viscount Townshend 1783–1784
Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond 1784–1795
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis 1795–1801
John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham 1801–1806
Francis Rawdon Hastings, 2nd Earl of Moira 1806–1807
John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham 1807–1810
Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave 1810–1819
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington 1819–1827
Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey 1827–1828
William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford 1828–1830
Sir James Kempt 1830–1834
Sir George Murray 1834–1835
Sir Richard Hussey Vivian, 1st Bt. 1835–1841
Sir George Murray 1841–1846
Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey 1846–1852
Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge 1852
Fitzroy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan 1852–1855
Post vacant from 1855 to 1904
Holders of the post have included:
Lieutenant General Sir James Murray (1904–1907)
Major General Sir Charles Hadden (1907–1913)
Major General Sir Stanley von Donop (1913–1916)
Lieutenant General Sir William Furse (1916–1919)
Lieutenant General Sir John Du Cane (1920–1923)
Lieutenant General Sir Noel Birch (1923–1927)
Lieutenant General Sir Webb Gillman (1927–1931)
Lieutenant General Sir Ronald Charles (1931–1934)
Lieutenant General Sir Hugh Elles (1934–1938)
The post was abolished by Lord Hore-Belisha, the Secretary of State for War, as he perceived it to be a block on production, transferring tank development responsibility to the Director General of Munitions Development. It was not reinstated until 1959
Lieutenant General Sir John Cowley (1960–1962)
General Sir Cecil Sugden (1962–1963)
Lieutenant General Sir Charles Jones (1963–1966)
Lieutenant General Sir Charles Richardson (1966–1971)
General Sir Noel Thomas (1971–1974)
General Sir John Gibbon (1974–1977)
General Sir Hugh Beach (1977–1981)
General Sir Peter Leng (1981–1983)
General Sir Richard Vincent (1983–1987)
General Sir John Stibbon (1987–1991)
General Sir Jeremy Blacker (1991–1995)
Lieutenant General Sir Robert Hayman-Joyce (1995–1998)
Major General David Jenkins (1998–2000)
Major General Peter Gilchrist (2000–2004)
Major General Andrew Figgures (2004–2006)
Major General Dick Applegate (June 2006-November 2006)
Major General Chris Wilson (2006-2010)
Major-General Bill Moore (2010-2011)
Major-General Nick Pope (2011–2013)
