Churchill war ministry

Churchill War Ministry
72nd Ministry of the United Kingdom (since 1707)
Date formed	10 May 1940 (1940-05-10)
Date dissolved	23 May 1945 (1945-05-23)
People and organisations
Head of government	Winston Churchill
Head of state	King George VI
Status in legislature	Coalition government
History
Predecessor	Chamberlain War
Successor	Churchill Caretaker

The Churchill war ministry was a Conservative-led coalition government in the United Kingdom, which lasted for most of World War II. It was led by Winston Churchill, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Formed in 1940, within a year of the war's outbreak, it lasted until 23 May 1945, shortly after the defeat of Germany, when Churchill resigned and an election was called.

The war ministry was followed by the Churchill caretaker ministry which in turn lasted until 26 July 1945 when the results of the general election brought Labour into government, led by Clement Attlee.

War Cabinet

1940–1945

Red indicates a member of the Labour Party, whilst blue indicates a member of the Conservative Party. Grey indicates an independent.

For a list of changes to the composition of the ministry, see here.

Portfolio	Minister		Took office	Left office	Party
First Lord of the Treasury Minister of Defence		Winston Churchill	May 1940	May 1945	Conservative
Deputy Prime Minister		Clement Attlee	February 1942	May 1945	Labour
Lord President of the Council		Neville Chamberlain	May 1940	October 1940	Conservative
		Sir John Anderson	October 1940	September 1943	National
		Clement Attlee	September 1943	May 1945	Labour
Lord Privy Seal		Clement Attlee	May 1940	February 1942	Labour
		Sir Stafford Cripps	February 1942	October 1942	Labour
Chancellor of the Exchequer		Sir Kingsley Wood	October 1940	February 1942	Conservative
		Sir John Anderson	September 1943	May 1945	National
Foreign Secretary		The Viscount Halifax	May 1940	December 1940	Conservative
		Anthony Eden	December 1940	May 1945	Conservative
Home Secretary		Herbert Morrison	October 1942	May 1945	Labour
Minister of Aircraft Production		The Lord Beaverbrook	August 1940	May 1941	Conservative
Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs		Clement Attlee	February 1942	September 1943	Labour
Minister of Labour and National Service		Ernest Bevin	October 1940	May 1945	Labour
Minister-Resident for the Middle East		Oliver Lyttelton	February 1942	March 1942	Conservative
		Richard Casey	March 1942	January 1944	National
		The Lord Moyne	January 1944	November 1944	Conservative
Minister without Portfolio		Arthur Greenwood	May 1940	February 1942	Labour
Minister of Reconstruction		The Lord Woolton	November 1943	May 1945	Conservative
Minister of State		The Lord Beaverbrook	May 1941	June 1941	Conservative
Minister of Supply		The Lord Beaverbrook	June 1941	February 1942	Conservative
Minister of War Production		The Lord Beaverbrook	February 1942	February 1942	Conservative
		Oliver Lyttelton	March 1942	May 1945	Conservative

List of Ministers

Members of the War Cabinet are in bold face.

Office	Name	Party		Dates	Notes
Prime Minister Minister of Defence and First Lord of the Treasury	Winston Churchill		Conservative	10 May 1940	Member of War Cabinet; also Leader of the House of Commons 1940-1942
Lord Chancellor	Viscount Simon		Liberal National	12 May 1940
Lord President of the Council	Neville Chamberlain		Conservative	11 May 1940	Member of War Cabinet. Died in November 1940.
	Sir John Anderson		National	3 October 1940	Member of War Cabinet
	Clement Attlee		Labour	24 September 1943	Member of War Cabinet
Lord Privy Seal	Clement Attlee		Labour	11 May 1940	Member of War Cabinet; also Deputy Leader of the House of Commons
	Stafford Cripps		Labour	19 February 1942	Member of War Cabinet; also Leader of the House of Commons
	Viscount Cranborne		Conservative	22 November 1942	also Leader of the House of Lords
	Lord Beaverbrook		Conservative	24 September 1943	Member of War Cabinet
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Sir Kingsley Wood		Conservative	12 May 1940	In War Cabinet from 3 October 1940 – 19 February 1942
	Sir John Anderson		National	24 September 1943
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury	David Margesson		Conservative	17 May 1940 – 22 December 1940	Jointly
	Sir Charles Edwards		Labour	17 May 1940 – 12 March 1942	Jointly
	James Stuart		Conservative	14 January 1941 – 23 May 1945	Jointly
	William Whiteley		Labour	12 March 1942 – 23 May 1945	Jointly
Financial Secretary to the Treasury	Harry Crookshank		Conservative	15 May 1940
	Ralph Assheton		Conservative	7 February 1943
	Osbert Peake		Conservative	29 October 1944
Lords of the Treasury	Stephen Furness		Liberal National	12 May 1940 – 18 May 1940
	James Stuart		Conservative	12 May 1940 – 14 January 1941
	Patrick Munro		Conservative	12 May 1940 – 13 March 1942
	Patrick Buchan-Hepburn		Conservative	12 May 1940 – 26 June 1940
	William Whytehead Boulton		Conservative	12 May 1940 – 13 March 1942
	Wilfred Paling		Labour	18 May 1940 – 8 February 1941
	James Thomas		Conservative	26 June 1940 – 25 September 1943
	Thomas Dugdale		Conservative	8 February 1941 – 23 February 1942
	William Murdoch Adamson		Labour	1 March 1941 – 2 October 1944
	Arthur Young		Conservative	23 February 1942 – 3 July 1944
	John McEwen		Conservative	13 March 1942 – 6 December 1944
	Leslie Pym		Conservative	13 March 1942 – 23 May 1945
	Alec Beechman		Liberal National	25 September 1943 – 23 May 1945
	Cedric Drewe		Conservative	3 July 1944 – 23 May 1945
	William John		Labour	2 October 1944 – 23 May 1945
	Patrick Buchan-Hepburn		Conservative	6 December 1944 – 23 May 1945
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Viscount Halifax		Conservative	11 May 1940	also Leader of the House of Lords from 3 October 1940; Member of War Cabinet
	Anthony Eden		Conservative	22 December 1940	Member of War Cabinet; also Leader of the House of Commons 1942-1945
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	R. A. Butler		Conservative	15 May 1940
	Richard Law		Conservative	20 July 1941
	George Henry Hall		Labour	25 September 1943
Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Home Security	Sir John Anderson		National	12 May 1940
	Herbert Morrison		Labour	2 October 1940	In War Cabinet from 22 November 1942
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department	Osbert Peake		Conservative	15 May 1940
	The Earl of Munster		Conservative	31 October 1944
Parliamentary Secretary for the Home Department	William Mabane		Liberal National	15 May 1940 – 3 June 1942
	Ellen Wilkinson		Labour	8 October 1940 – 23 May 1945
First Lord of the Admiralty	A. V. Alexander		Labour	11 May 1940
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty	Sir Victor Warrender, Bt		Conservative	17 May 1940	Lord Bruntisfield
Civil Lord of the Admiralty	Sir Austin Hudson, Bt		Conservative	15 May 1940
	Richard Pilkington		Conservative	4 March 1942
Financial Secretary to the Admiralty	George Hall		Labour	4 February 1942
	James Thomas		Conservative	25 September 1943
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries	Robert Hudson		Conservative	14 May 1940
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries	The Lord Moyne		Conservative	15 May 1940 – 8 February 1941
	Tom Williams		Labour	15 May 1940 – 23 May 1945
	The Duke of Norfolk		Conservative	8 February 1941 – 23 May 1945
Secretary of State for Air	Sir Archibald Sinclair, Bt		Liberal	11 May 1940
Under-Secretary of State for Air	Harold Balfour		Conservative	15 May 1940 – 21 November 1944
	The Lord Sherwood		Liberal	20 July 1941 – 23 May 1945
	Rupert Brabner		Conservative	21 November 1944 – 27 March 1945
	Quintin Hogg		Conservative	12 April 1945 – 23 May 1945
Minister of Aircraft Production	The Lord Beaverbrook		Conservative	14 May 1940	In War Cabinet from 2 August 1940 – 1 May 1941
	John Moore-Brabazon		Conservative	1 May 1941
	John Llewellin		Conservative	22 February 1942
	Sir Stafford Cripps		Labour	22 November 1942
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aircraft Production	John Llewellin		Conservative	15 May 1940
	Frederick Montague		Labour	1 May 1941
	Ben Smith		Labour	4 March 1942
	Alan Lennox-Boyd		Conservative	11 November 1943
Minister of Civil Aviation	The Viscount Swinton		Conservative	8 October 1944	New office
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Civil Aviation	Robert Perkins		Conservative	22 March 1945
Secretary of State for the Colonies	The Lord Lloyd		Conservative	12 May 1940	also Leader of the House of Lords from 22 December 1940
	The Lord Moyne		Conservative	8 February 1941	also Leader of the House of Lords
	Viscount Cranborne		Conservative	22 February 1942	also Leader of the House of Lords
	Oliver Stanley		Conservative	22 November 1942
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies	George Hall		Labour	15 May 1940
	Harold Macmillan		Conservative	4 February 1942
	The Duke of Devonshire		Conservative	1 January 1943
Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs	The Viscount Caldecote		Conservative	14 May 1940	also Leader of the House of Lords
	Viscount Cranborne		Conservative	3 October 1940
	Clement Attlee		Labour	19 February 1942	Member of War Cabinet
	Viscount Cranborne		Conservative	24 September 1943	also Leader of the House of Lords
Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs	Geoffrey Shakespeare		Liberal National	15 May 1940
	Paul Emrys-Evans		Conservative	4 March 1942
Minister of Economic Warfare	Hugh Dalton		Labour	15 May 1940
	Viscount Wolmer		Conservative	22 February 1942
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Warfare	Dingle Foot		Liberal	17 May 1940
President of the Board of Education	Herwald Ramsbotham		Conservative	14 May 1940
	Rab Butler		Conservative	20 July 1941	Renamed Minister of Education 3 August 1944
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education	James Chuter Ede		Labour	15 May 1940
Minister of Food	The Lord Woolton		Conservative	13 May 1940
	John Llewellin		Conservative	11 November 1943
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Food	Robert Boothby		Conservative	15 May 1940
	Gwilym Lloyd-George		Liberal	22 October 1940
	William Mabane		Liberal National	3 June 1942
Minister of Fuel and Power	Gwilym Lloyd-George		Liberal	3 June 1942	New office
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fuel and Power	Geoffrey Lloyd		Conservative	3 June 1942 – 23 May 1945
	Tom Smith		Labour	3 June 1942 – 23 May 1945
Minister of Health	Malcolm MacDonald		National Labour	13 May 1940
	Ernest Brown		Liberal National	8 February 1941
	Henry Willink		Conservative	11 November 1943
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health	Florence Horsbrugh		Conservative	15 May 1940
Secretary of State for India and Burma	Leo Amery		Conservative	13 May 1940
Parliamentary Secretary for India and Burma	The Duke of Devonshire		Conservative	17 May 1940
	The Earl of Munster		Conservative	1 January 1943
	The Earl of Listowel		Labour	31 October 1944
Minister of Information	Duff Cooper		Conservative	12 May 1940	Attended War Cabinet from 28 May 1940
	Brendan Bracken		Conservative	20 July 1941
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Information	Harold Nicolson		National Labour	17 May 1940
	Ernest Thurtle		Labour	20 July 1941
Minister of Labour and National Service	Ernest Bevin		Labour	13 May 1940	In War Cabinet from 3 October 1940
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour	Ralph Assheton		Conservative	15 May 1940 – 4 February 1942
	George Tomlinson		Labour	8 February 1941 – 23 May 1945
	Malcolm McCorquodale		Conservative	4 February 1942 – 23 May 1945
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	The Lord Hankey		Independent	14 May 1940
	Duff Cooper		Conservative	20 July 1941
	Ernest Brown		Liberal National	11 November 1943
Minister Resident North-West Africa	Harold Macmillan		Conservative	30 December 1942
Minister Resident Middle East	Oliver Lyttelton		Conservative	19 February 1942	Member of War Cabinet
	Richard Casey		Independent	19 March 1942	Member of War Cabinet until 23 December 1943. Not a British MP
	The Lord Moyne		Conservative	28 January 1944
	Sir Edward Grigg		Conservative	21 November 1944
Deputy Minister of State	The Lord Moyne		Conservative	27 August 1942 – 28 January 1944
Minister Resident, Washington	John Llewellin		Conservative	22 November 1942
	Ben Smith		Labour	11 November 1943
Minister Resident West Africa	The Viscount Swinton		Conservative	8 June 1942
	Harold Balfour		Conservative	21 November 1944
Minister without Portfolio	Arthur Greenwood		Labour	11 May 1940 – 22 February 1942	Member of War Cabinet
	Sir William Jowitt		Labour	30 December 1942 – 8 October 1944
Paymaster General	Viscount Cranborne		Conservative	15 May 1940	Office vacant 3 October 1940
	The Lord Hankey		Independent	20 July 1941
	Sir William Jowitt		Labour	4 March 1942
	The Lord Cherwell		Conservative	30 December 1942
Minister for Pensions	Sir Walter Womersley		Conservative	15 May 1940
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Pensions	Ellen Wilkinson		Labour	17 May 1940
	The Lord Tryon		Conservative	8 October 1940
	Wilfred Paling		Labour	8 February 1941
Postmaster-General	William Morrison		Conservative	15 May 1940
	Harry Crookshank		Conservative	7 February 1943
Assistant Postmaster-General	Charles Waterhouse		Conservative	17 May 1940
	Allan Chapman		Conservative	1 March 1941
	Robert Grimston		Conservative	4 March 1942
Minister of Reconstruction	The Lord Woolton		Conservative	11 November 1943	Member of War Cabinet
Secretary of State for Scotland	Ernest Brown		Liberal National	14 May 1940
	Tom Johnston		Labour	8 February 1941
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland	Joseph Westwood		Labour	17 May 1940 – 23 May 1945
	Henry Wedderburn		Conservative	8 February 1941 – 4 March 1942
	Allan Chapman		Conservative	4 March 1942 – 23 May 1945
Minister of Shipping	Ronald Cross		Conservative	14 May 1940	Merged into Minister of War Transport 1 May 1941
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Shipping	Sir Arthur Salter		Independent	15 May 1940
Minister of Social Insurance	Sir William Jowitt		Labour	8 October 1944	Renamed Minister of National Insurance 17 November 1944
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Insurance	Charles Peat		Conservative	22 March 1945
Minister of State	The Lord Beaverbrook		Conservative	1 May 1941	Member of War Cabinet
	Oliver Lyttelton		Conservative	29 June 1941	Member of War Cabinet. Office vacant from 12 March 1942
Minister of Supply	Herbert Morrison		Labour	12 May 1940
	Sir Andrew Rae Duncan		Conservative	3 October 1940
	The Lord Beaverbrook		Conservative	29 June 1941	Member of War Cabinet
	Sir Andrew Rae Duncan		Conservative	4 February 1942
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Supply	Harold Macmillan		Conservative	15 May 1940 – 4 February 1942
	Wyndham Raymond Portal, 1st Viscount Portal		Conservative	4 September 1940 – 22 February 1942
	Ralph Assheton		Conservative	4 February 1942 – 7 February 1943
	Charles Peat		Conservative	4 March 1942 – 22 March 1945
	Duncan Sandys		Conservative	7 February 1943 – 21 November 1944
	John Wilmot		Labour	21 November 1944 – 23 May 1945
	James de Rothschild		Liberal	22 March 1945 – 23 May 1945
Minister of Town and Country Planning	William Morrison		Conservative	30 December 1942	Minister designate until 7 February 1943
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Town and Country Planning	Henry Strauss		Conservative	30 December 1942
	Arthur Jenkins		Labour	22 March 1945
President of the Board of Trade	Sir Andrew Rae Duncan		Conservative	12 May 1940
	Oliver Lyttelton		Conservative	3 October 1940
	Sir Andrew Rae Duncan		Conservative	29 June 1941
	John Llewellin		Conservative	4 February 1942
	Hugh Dalton		Labour	22 February 1942
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade	Gwilym Lloyd-George		Liberal	15 May 1940	Also Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Food from 22 October 1940
	Charles Waterhouse		Conservative	8 February 1941
Secretary for Overseas Trade	Harcourt Johnstone		Liberal	15 May 1940
Secretary for Mines	David Grenfell		Labour	15 May 1940
Secretary for Petroleum	Geoffrey Lloyd		Conservative	15 May 1940 – 3 June 1942	Combined into Minister for Fuel and Power
Minister of Transport	Sir John Reith		National	14 May 1940
	John Moore-Brabazon		Conservative	3 October 1940	became Minister of War Transport 1 May 1941
Minister of War Production	The Lord Beaverbrook		Conservative	4 February 1942	Office vacant 19 February 1942
	Oliver Lyttelton		Conservative	12 March 1942	Post retitled Minister of Production upon appointment
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Production	George Garro-Jones		Labour	10 September 1942
Secretary of State for War	Anthony Eden		Conservative	11 May 1940
	David Margesson		Conservative	22 December 1940
	Sir P. J. Grigg		National	22 February 1942
Under-Secretary of State for War	Sir Henry Page Croft		Conservative	17 May 1940 – 23 May 1945	Lord Croft
	Sir Edward Grigg		Conservative	17 May 1940 – 4 March 1942
	Arthur Henderson		Labour	4 March 1942 – 7 February 1943
Financial Secretary to the War Office	Richard Law		Conservative	17 May 1940
	Duncan Sandys		Conservative	20 July 1941
	Arthur Henderson		Labour	7 February 1943
Minister of War Transport	The Lord Leathers		Conservative	1 May 1941
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of War Transport	Frederick Montague		Labour	18 May 1940 – 1 May 1941
	John Llewellin		Conservative	1 May 1941 – 4 February 1942
	Sir Arthur Salter		Independent	29 June 1941 – 4 February 1942
First Commissioner of Works	The Lord Tryon		Conservative	18 May 1940
	Sir John Reith		National	3 October 1940	Minister of Works and Buildings, and 1st Commissioner. Later Lord Reith
	The Lord Portal		Conservative	22 February 1942	Renamed Minister of Works and Planning from 11 February 1942, and Minister of Works from February 1943
	Duncan Sandys		Conservative	21 November 1944
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Works	George Hicks		Labour	19 November 1940 – 23 May 1945
	Henry Strauss		Conservative	4 March 1942 – 30 December 1942
Attorney General	Sir Donald Somervell		Conservative	15 May 1940
Solicitor General	Sir William Jowitt		Labour	15 May 1940
	Sir David Maxwell Fyfe		Conservative	4 March 1942
Lord Advocate	Thomas Cooper		Conservative	15 May 1940
	James Reid		Conservative	5 June 1941
Solicitor General for Scotland	James Reid		Conservative	15 May 1940
	David King Murray		Conservative	5 June 1941	Knighted
Treasurer of the Household	Robert Grimston		Conservative	17 May 1940
	Sir James Edmondson		Conservative	12 March 1942
Comptroller of the Household	William Whiteley		Labour	17 May 1940
	William John		Labour	12 March 1942
	George Mathers		Labour	2 October 1944
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	Sir James Edmondson		Conservative	17 May 1940
	William Whytehead Boulton		Conservative	12 March 1942
	Arthur Young		Conservative	13 July 1944
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	The Lord Snell		Labour	31 May 1940 – 21 April 1944
	The Earl Fortescue		Conservative	22 March 1945
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard	The Lord Templemore		Conservative	31 May 1940
Lords in Waiting	The Earl Fortescue		Conservative	31 May 1940 – 22 March 1945
	The Viscount Clifden		Liberal	31 May 1940 – 23 May 1945
	The Lord Alness		Liberal National	31 May 1940 – 23 May 1945
	The Marquess of Normanby		Conservative	22 March 1945 – 23 May 1945

Changes

• August 1940: Lord Beaverbrook (a Canadian-British citizen), Minister of Aircraft Production, joins the War Cabinet
• October 1940: Sir John Anderson succeeds Neville Chamberlain as Lord President. Sir Kingsley Wood, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, enter the War Cabinet. Lord Halifax assumes the additional job of Leader of the House of Lords.
• December 1940: Anthony Eden succeeds Lord Halifax as Foreign Secretary. Halifax remains nominally in the Cabinet as Ambassador to the United States. His successor as Leader of the House of Lords is not in the War Cabinet.
• May 1941: Lord Beaverbrook ceased to be Minister of Aircraft Production, but remains in the Cabinet as Minister of State. His successor was not in the War Cabinet.
• June 1941: Lord Beaverbrook becomes Minister of Supply, remaining in the War Cabinet.
• 1941: Oliver Lyttelton enters the Cabinet as Minister Resident in the Middle East.
• 4 February 1942: Lord Beaverbrook becomes Minister of War Production; his successor as Minister of Supply is not in the War Cabinet.
• 19 February 1942: Beaverbrook resigns and no replacement Minister of War Production is appointed for the moment. Clement Attlee becomes Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister. Sir Stafford Cripps succeeds Attlee as Lord Privy Seal and takes over the position of Leader of the House of Commons from Churchill. Sir Kingsley Wood leaves the War Cabinet, though remaining Chancellor of the Exchequer.
• 22 February 1942: Arthur Greenwood resigns from the War Cabinet.
• March 1942: Oliver Lyttelton fills the vacant position of Minister of Production ("War" was dropped from the title). Richard Gardiner Casey (a member of the Australian Parliament) succeeds Oliver Lyttelton as Minister Resident in the Middle East.
• October 1942: Sir Stafford Cripps retires as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons and leaves the War Cabinet. His successor as Lord Privy Seal is not in the Cabinet, Anthony Eden takes the additional position of Leader of the House of Commons. The Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison, enters the Cabinet.
• September 1943: Sir John Anderson succeeds Sir Kingsley Wood (deceased) as Chancellor of the Exchequer, remaining in the War Cabinet. Clement Attlee succeeds Anderson as Lord President, remaining also Deputy Prime Minister. Attlee's successor as Dominions Secretary is not in the Cabinet.
• November 1943: Lord Woolton enters the Cabinet as Minister of Reconstruction.
• January to November 1944: Lord Moyne replaces Richard Gardiner Casey as Minister Resident in the Middle East.

References

• D. Butler and G. Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000.
• Photo of the Churchill Coalition Government 1940-45 from the website of the Imperial War Museum.

Preceded by Chamberlain War Ministry

Government of the United Kingdom 1940–1945

Succeeded by Churchill Caretaker Ministry