Catalogue description War Office: Committee on Awards to Inventors: Minutes and Papers

A War Office Standing Committee on Inventors' claims was appointed in 1867 but was superseded in 1869 by the Ordnance Council, which was set up in that year to advise the Secretary of State for War on questions connected with arms, armaments and experiments. However, with the growth of other consultative bodies such as the Ordnance Committee, War Office Council and Army Council, the Ordnance Council's functions were narrowed, and its chief duty became the provision of advice to the Army Council on questions of royalties, rewards to inventors etc. Representatives of both the Admiralty and the India Office sat on the Council, which was chaired by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the War Office. During the First World War the Ordnance Council fell into abeyance, claims for awards apparently being dealt with by the Ministry of Munitions, and it was not until December 1920 that a War Office Standing Committee was re-established to advise the Army Council. Its first chairman was Colonel B R Kirwan Director of Artillery, and the Committee met first on 15 December 1920.

It continued in this way, under the chairmanship of the Director of Artillery, until October 1938, and was able to recommend awards up to £1,000 without Treasury approval; Treasury sanction was however necessary for higher awards. In October 1938 Dr H J Gough was appointed the first Director of Scientific Research in the War Office, and became chairman of the committee in place of the Director of Artillery. The directorate was transferred to the Ministry of Supply and as a consequence the committee was reconstituted in February 1940 as an Ministry of Supply committee, acting for both the new ministry and the War Office: Dr Gough continued as its chairman. The committee continued to operate throughout the Second World War, although it was not until 1943 that its terms of reference were amended to record formally that it acted as adviser to the Army Council.

In May 1946 the Awards committees of the Ministry of Supply and the Ministry of Aircraft Production were merged. The combined committee now dealt with claims not only from the Army and Ministry of Supply, but also the RAF, Air Ministry and Ministry of Civil Aviation. After the demise of the Ministry of Supply, in 1959, the committee's functions were assumed by a new Ministry of Aviation Committee on Awards which continued to act as adviser to the Army Council in these matters.