List of First and Principal Naval Aides-de-Camp explained

Below is a list of First and Principal Naval Aides-de-Camp, an office established by William IV of the United Kingdom in 1830.

History of the office

In 1827 King George IV had appointed Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Taylor (a senior Army officer and courtier) to be his First and Principal Aide-de-Camp^[1] ('an office which it is said was established expressly for the purpose of retaining the valuable services of Sir Herbert, who at that period was contemplating a continental journey').^[2] Three years later King William IV appointed a number of Naval Aides-de-Camp to the King, and at the same time appointed Admiral the Rt Hon. Lord Amelius Beauclerk, K.C.B., to be his First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp.^[3] Meanwhile Sir Herbert Taylor continued to hold the distinct office of First and Principal ADC, under both King William IV^[4] and Queen Victoria, until his death in 1839.^[5] He was not directly replaced; however, Beauclerk, following his death in December 1846, was promptly replaced in the office of First and Principal Naval ADC by Vice Admiral Sir William Parker, Bart., G.C.B..^[6]

First and Principal Naval Aides-de-Camp

• 1830–1846: Lord Amelius Beauclerk^[7]
• 1846–1866: Sir William Parker, Bt.^[8]
• 1866–1873: The Earl of Lauderdale^[9]
• 1873–1878: Sir James Hope^[10]
• 1878–1879: The Hon. Sir Henry Keppel
• 1879–1886: Sir Astley Key
• 1886–1895: Sir Geoffrey Hornby
• 1895–1897: Sir Algernon Lyons
• 1897–1899: Sir Nowell Salmon
• 1899–1901: Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, Bt.
• 1901–1902: Sir James Erskine
• 1902–1903: Sir Edward Seymour
• 1903–1904: Sir Henry Stephenson
• 1904–1911: Sir John Fisher
• 1911–1913: Sir Lewis Beaumont
• 1913–1914: Sir Edmund Poë
• 1914–1917: Sir George Callaghan
• 1917–1919: Sir Henry Jackson
• 1919–1922: Sir Stanley Colville
• 1922–1924: Sir Charles Madden, Bt.
• 1924–1925: Sir Somerset Gough-Calthorpe
• 1925–1926: Sir Montague Browning
• 1926–1928: Sir Arthur Leveson
• 1928–1929: Sir Richard Phillimore
• 1929–1930: Sir William Goodenough

• 1930: Sir Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair
• 1930–1931: Sir Walter Cowan, Bt.
• 1931–1932: Sir Hubert Brand
• 1932–1934: Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt, Bt.
• 1934–1936: Sir John Kelly
• 1936–1938: The Earl of Cork and Orrery
• 1938–1939: Sir Roger Backhouse
• 1939–1941: The Hon. Sir Reginald Drax
• 1941–1943: Sir Dudley Pound
• 1943–1945: Sir Percy Noble
• 1945–1946: The Lord Tovey
• 1946–1948: The Lord Fraser of North Cape
• 1948–1949: Sir Henry Moore
• 1949–1952: Sir Arthur Power
• 1952–1953: Sir Rhoderick McGrigor
• 1953–1954: Sir John Edelsten
• 1954–1958: The Hon. Sir Guy Russell
• 1958–1959: Sir Guy Grantham
• 1959–1960: Sir William Davis
• 1960–1962: Sir Caspar John
• 1962–1965: Sir Wilfrid Woods
• 1965–1968: Sir Desmond Dreyer
• 1968–1970: Sir John Frewen
• 1970–1972: Sir Horace Law
• 1972–1974: Sir Michael Pollock

Since 1972, the office has been united with that of First Sea Lord.^[11]

Flag Aide-de-Camp

Flag Aide-de-Camp was, for a time, the designation given to the next most senior naval aide-de-camp after the First and Principal Naval ADC (namely between 1972 and 2012). The Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command invariably held this appointment;^[12] in October 2012 the post of Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command was abolished, since when the appointment of Flag Aide-de-Camp appears to be in abeyance.^[13]

Notes and References

1. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/18359/page/1010 The London Gazette, Issue 18359, Page 1010, 8 May 1827
2. Book: O'Byrne . Robert H. . The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (Part I - Bedfordshire) . 1848 . John Ollivier . London . 209 . Taylor, Sir Herbert, Knt..
3. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/18715/page/1689 The London Gazette, Issue 18715, Page 1689, 6 August 1830
4. Book: A List of the Officers of the Army and Royal Marines . 1833 . War Office . London . 61.
5. Book: Lee . Sidney . Dictionary of National Biography (Vol. LV - Stow to Taylor) . 1898 . The Macmillan Company . New York . 414.
6. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/20685/page/5926 The London Gazette, Issue 20685, Page 5926, 22 December 1846
7. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/3883/page/229 The Edinburgh Gazette Issue 3883, Page 229, 10 August 1830
8. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/20685/page/5926 The London Gazette, Issue 20685, Page 5926, 22 December 1846
9. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/23191/page/6471 The London Gazette, Issue 23191, Page 6471, 27 November 1866
10. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/23952/page/783 The London Gazette, Issue 23952, Page 783, 25 February 1873
11. London Gazette, various editions
12. London Gazette, various editions
13. The 2019 Navy Directory, for example, does not list any such person among the aides-de-camp: Navy List 2019.