Naval Intelligence Division (Royal Navy)

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The Naval Intelligence Division (from 1912 to 1918 the Intelligence Division) was the intelligence-gathering body of the Royal Navy's Admiralty War Staff and successor Naval Staff.

History

As constituted on 8 January, 1912, the Intelligence Division was composed of a Director, an Assistant Director, fourteen Naval and Marine officers, and thirteen civilian staff.[1] The first Director, Captain Thomas Jackson, had been Assistant Director of Naval Intelligence in the Naval Intelligence Department and Head of Foreign Division. The Assistant Director, Captain Maurice S. FitzMaurice, had been additional Assistant Director of Naval Intelligence in the N.I.D.

Great War

Commander Gilbert Stephenson, an officer in the Intelligence Division, later commented:

The system in the War Room at the start was very inadequate. None of the Commanders on duty there was able to take action without the approval of a Post-Captain. This was quite ridiculous, and I said so! My suggestion for more delegation of authority was not approved.
But when I worked as a Duty Commander - 24 hours on, 48 hours off - there was no question of referring everything to senior officers. The messages that came in had to be acted upon - and of course that suited me much better.[2]

According to Dr. Nicholas Black, 206 Royal Navy officers served in the division during the war.[3]

At some point between 18 March, 1918,[4] and 18 June, 1918, the division was renamed the Naval Intelligence Division and the director became the Director of Naval Intelligence once more.[5]

Sections

Publicity Section

This section was under D.N.I. and the Chief Censor. An office memorandum of 27 January, 1918, outlined the duties of the section staff as shown in the table below. At some point in 1918 the section became an independent Naval Publicity Department.

Information Section

This section is known to have existed during World War II, at least.

Directors

Dates of appointment given:

Deputy Directors

Assistant Directors

Dates of appointment given:

Tristan Dannreuther held this position from 7 April, 1919,[53] but we've left him off the list as, in March 1919, five men were jointly holding the position.

Footnotes

  1. "Admiralty War Staff. Distribution of Work.—May 1912." pp. 3-5. The National Archives. ADM 1/8272.
  2. Baker. The Terror of Tobermory. p. 27.
  3. Black. The British Naval Staff. p. 21.
  4. The Navy List. (April, 1918). p. 1814.
  5. The Navy List. (July, 1918). p. 1814.
  6. "Office Memorandum. Naval Intelligence Division. Publicity Section." Docket entitled "Air Department Documents: Organisation of Duties of Admiralty Concerning the Air Services June 1917 – Feby 1918." The National Archives. AIR 1/279/15/226/127. Location of Commander Walcott's office taken from "Admiralty Telephone Exchange List 1918." Revised August, 1918. Accessed at the National Museum of the Royal Navy.
  7. Jackson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 496.
  8. Jackson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 496.
  9. Oliver Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 319.
  10. Oliver Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 319.
  11. The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 122.
  12. Hall Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 40/78.
  13. Hall Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 40/78.
  14. The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 124.
  15. Sinclair Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 368.
  16. The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 124.
  17. Hotham Service Record The National Archives. ADM 196/44/184. f. 184.
  18. The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 124.
  19. Hotham Service Record The National Archives. ADM 196/44/184. f. 223.
  20. The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 124.
  21. Fisher Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 231.
  22. Domvile Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 224.
  23. The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. p. 124.
  24. Domvile Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 224.
  25. Usborne Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45/115. f. 118.
  26. Usborne Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45/115. f. 118.
  27. Dickens Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 138.
  28. Dickens Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 138.
  29. Troup Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/135. f. 340.
  30. Troup Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/135. f. 340.
  31. James Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 146.
  32. James Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 146.
  33. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  34. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  35. "Naval and Military" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Tuesday, 11 September, 1923. Issue 43443, col A, p. 20.
  36. Chetwode Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 228.
  37. Chetwode Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 228.
  38. Dewar Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 59.
  39. Dewar Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 59.
  40. Evans Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49. Unnumbered folio.
  41. Evans Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49. Unnumbered folio.
  42. "Naval, Military and Air Force" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 11 April, 1930. Issue 45485, col D, p. 21.
  43. Harrison Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48/164. f. 568.
  44. "Royal Navy" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Saturday, 23 January, 1932. Issue 46038, col F, p. 19.
  45. "Naval Appointments." The Times (London, England), 7 Nov. 1933, p. 7.
  46. "Naval Appointments." The Times (London, England), 9 Dec. 1935, p. 21.
  47. FitzMaurice Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 148.
  48. FitzMaurice Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 148.
  49. Heaton-Ellis Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 20/38.
  50. Heaton-Ellis Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 20/38.
  51. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  52. Cochrane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 147.
  53. The Navy List. (January, 1921). p. 1815.

Bibliography

  • Black, Nicholas (2009). The British Naval Staff in the First World War. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. ISBN 9781843834427.
  • Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division (1929). The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. Its Work and Development. B.R. 1845 (late C.B. 3013). Copy No. 8 at The National Archives. ADM 234/434.