Minister of Supply

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The Minister of Supply was the minister in the British Government responsible for the Ministry of Supply, which existed to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to the national armed forces. The position was campaigned for by many sceptics of the foreign policy of the National Government in the 1930s before ultimately being created in 1939.

During World War II there was a separate Ministry of Aircraft Production; the first minister Beaverbrook later became Minister of Supply. When W. A. Robotham was Chief Engineer of Tank Design in the Ministry of Supply, he demanded sound manganese steel castings for tank tracks, as a broken track could be a death warrant for the crew. The Beaver "rightly" accused him of holding up production, and took a poor view of Robotham's observation "that they had enough unreliable tanks to last us the rest of the war!". In July 1941, 25% of British tanks were immobilised from mechanical failure, although there was no enemy action in the theatres of war! [1]

The Ministry of Aircraft Production was amalgamated into the Ministry of Supply in July 1945.

In the post-war governments, the Ministry became increasingly unpopular with economy-minded Conservatives, who objected to it as a redundant middle-man. This point of view was shared by Reginald Maudling, who served as the Minister under Anthony Eden and refused to continue in office under Harold Macmillan, who had served in a junior role in the Ministry and believed in it. Nevertheless, he agreed to wind it up in 1959.

## Minister of Supply 1939–1959

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Portrait  | Name  | Term of office  | Political party  | Government

|
|
|
|

|  | Leslie Burgin
MP for Luton | 14 July
1939  | 12 May
1940  | Liberal National | National IV
(Cons.-Lab.Nat.-Lib.Nat.)
Chamberlain War
(Cons.-Lab.Nat.-Lib.Nat.)
|  | Herbert Morrison
MP for Hackney South | 12 May
1940  | 3 October
1940  | Labour | Churchill War
|  | Sir Andrew Rae Duncan
MP for City of London | 3 October
1940  | 29 June
1941  | National
|  | Max Aitken
1st Baron Beaverbrook | 29 June
1941  | 4 February
1942  | Conservative
|  | Sir Andrew Rae Duncan
MP for City of London | 4 February
1942  | 26 July
1945  | National
Churchill Caretaker
|  | John Wilmot
MP for Deptford | 3 August
1945  | 7 October
1947  | Labour | Attlee
(I & II)
|  | George Strauss
MP for Lambeth North before 1950
MP for Vauxhall after 1950 | 7 October
1947  | 26 October
1951  | Labour
|  | Duncan Sandys
MP for Streatham | 31 October
1951  | 18 October
1954  | Conservative | Churchill III
|  | Selwyn Lloyd
MP for The Wirral | 18 October
1954  | 7 April
1955  | Conservative
|  | Reginald Maudling
MP for Barnet | 7 April
1955  | 16 January
1957  | Conservative | Eden
|  | Aubrey Jones
MP for Birmingham Hall Green | 16 January
1957  | 22 October
1959  | Conservative | Macmillan I

## Further reading

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* Robotham, William Arthur (1970). Silver Ghosts and Silver Dawn. London: Constable.

## References

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1. ^ Robotham 1970, pp. 143, 178, 179.