In a separate capacity, the CNS is a member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and, thereby, a military advisor to the National Security Council, the prime minister and the monarch.

Since 1923, the First Sea Lord has been a member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee; he now sits on the Defence Council and the Admiralty Board.

As a member of the Defence Council, the First Sea Lord supports the Secretary of State in the management and direction of the Armed Forces through prerogative and statutory powers.

He has a collective responsibility for providing strategic direction to the department, managing performance and ensuring that defence delivers the required outputs.

[3] The first post holder was Vice-Admiral Augustus Hervey; he first served under First Lord of the Admiralty John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.

Hannay describes Lord Alloa as recognizable from news pictures for his "beard cut like a spade, the firm fighting mouth, the blunt square nose, and the keen blue eyes...the man, they say, that made the New British Navy".

[58] The real First Sea Lord at the time the story is set (early summer 1914) was Prince Louis of Battenberg, coincidentally also bearded.