Reginald McKenna

Reginald McKenna served as First Lord of the Admiralty in the years before the First World War, when Britain was heavily engaged in naval expansion and strategic competition. His office belonged to a crucial phase of dreadnought construction and fleet policy.

As First Lord, McKenna worked at the intersection of finance, party politics, and naval strategy. The office in his hands reflected how essential political backing was to the growth of the modern battlefleet.

He is significant because he belongs to the ministerial history of Britain’s pre-war naval buildup. McKenna stands in the political leadership of the Edwardian Admiralty.