Paymaster of the Forces

The office was established in 1661, one year after the Restoration of the Monarchy to Charles II of England, and was responsible for part of the financing of the British Army, in the improved form created by Oliver Cromwell during the Commonwealth.

The first to hold the office was Sir Stephen Fox (1627–1716), an exceptionally able administrator who had remained a member of the household of King Charles II during his exile in France.

[1] Before the development of the banking system, the duty of the paymaster was to act as the personal sole domestic banker of the army.

Cabal Danby I Carmarthen Whig Junto I Pembroke Stanhope–Sunderland I Stanhope–Sunderland II Carteret 1757 Caretaker Grenville Rockingham I Chatham Grafton North Pitt the Younger I Perceval Liverpool Canningite Govt.Canning · Goderich Wellington–Peel Office merged into that of Paymaster General, 1836.

[3] These were appointed to a special office to oversee the pay of Queen Anne's army in the Low Countries, and are not in the regular succession of Paymasters of the Forces.

Sir Stephen Fox (1627–1716), first Paymaster of the Forces
A wing of the Horse Guards , Whitehall , used to accommodate the Paymaster to the Forces; rebuilt in 1732, the building went on to accommodate the Paymaster General's Office until 1939. [ 2 ]