Naval Intelligence Department
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| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1887 |
| Preceding Department |
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| Dissolved | 1912 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | Government of the United Kingdom |
| Headquarters | Admiralty Building Whitehall London |
| Parent Department | Admiralty |
The Naval Intelligence Department (NID) was the intelligence arm of the British Admiralty from 1887 until 1912 when most of its subsidiary divisions were absorbed during the creation of the Admiralty War Staff department that included a new Naval Intelligence Division that concentrated in that sphere solely . It dealt with intelligence matters concerning British naval plans, and with the collection of naval intelligence in regard to coastal defences, foreign powers, mobilistation, trade and war.
The Foreign Intelligence Committee was established in 1882 and it evolved into the Naval Intelligence Department in 1887.
The NID staff were originally responsible for fleet mobilisation and war plans as well as foreign intelligence collection; thus in the beginning there were originally two divisions: (1) intelligence (Foreign) and (2) Mobilisation. In 1900 another division, War, was added to deal with issues of strategy and defence, and in 1902 a fourth division, Trade, was created for matters related to the protection of merchant shipping. The Trade Division was abolished in October 1909 in the wake of the Committee of Imperial Defence inquiry into the feud between the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir John Fisher and former Commander-in-Chief Channel Fleet, Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, when it was discovered that the captain heading the Trade Division had been supplying the latter with confidential information during the inquiry.
In 1910, the NID was shorn of its responsibility for war planning and strategy when the outgoing Fisher created the Navy War Council as a stop-gap remedy to criticisms emanating from the Beresford Inquiry that the Navy needed a naval staff—a role the NID had been in fact fulfilling since at least 1900, if not earlier. After this reorganisation, war planning and strategic matters were transferred to the newly created Naval Mobilisation Department and the NID reverted to the position it held prior to 1887—an intelligence collection and collation organisation.
In 1912 the department was restructured with most of its divisions and functions being absorbed within the Admiralty War Staff organisation the department was abolished and re-emerged as the Naval Intelligence Division of the new department.
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