Sir Joseph Maclay, 1st Baronet (16 December 1916 – 31 March 1921), as "Shipping Controller" was the first holder of the post. As Sir Joseph was not a member of either house of Parliament, a Parliamentary Secretary was appointed to represent him in the Commons. The first was Sir
Leo Chiozza Money (22 December 1916) who was succeeded on 10 January 1919 by
Leslie Orme Wilson who held the post until 31 March 1921 The responsibilities overseen by the minister included what had been the
Transport Board that was part of the Navy Board until 1832. Oversight for the provision of naval transportation then passed to the
Department of the Comptroller of Victualling and Transport Services until 1862 when it was transferred to the
Board of Admiralty who set up a
Transport Department. By 1890 it was renamed as the Department of the Director of Transports. In 1917 once again as the Transport Department it was temporarily absorbed into the Ministry of Shipping, and the
Admiralty seconded an officer to the ministry with the title of Director of Transports and Shipping. In 1916 a
Shipping Controller was appointed to regulate merchant shipping for government purposes and to coordinate wartime shipping requirements. A Ministry of Shipping was established following the Defence Regulations of June 1917. The Ministry of Shipping, had responsibility for 'sea transport of military forces and supplies, food and raw materials for industry, Atlantic, Gibraltar and Russian convoys, shipping losses and tonnage requirements, shipbuilding and other matters relating to wartime British and allied control of merchant shipping'. In 1917, the ministry embarked on a large scale requisitioning scheme of British ships and became responsible for the maintenance and operation of a vast merchant fleet. There were three Ministers of Shipping from 1939 to 1941: •
Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet (13 October 1939 – 30 March 1940) (died) •
Robert Hudson (3 April – 14 May 1940) •
Ronald Cross (14 May 1940 – 1 May 1941) ==References==