The management and efficient running of the Victualling Board was in the hands of seven central Commissioners who had been appointed by the Lords of the Admiralty, to whom they had to report two to three times a week. The Commissioners usually met on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Each Commissioner had clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Two Commissioners were responsible for finance and accounts, and the remaining five each had a particular field of responsibility across all geographical areas (see Appendix 2). They were aided in their tasks by a team of about forty assistants. From the records available it has been possible to establish that, for instance, Mr Denham Skeet was responsible for making calculations concerning the suppliers’ offers, and that a certain Mr Richard Henshaw was responsible for the victualling of geographically distant bases.

Victualling Methods

The total quantity of goods that the Commissioners needed to obtain to ensure the smooth running of victualling operations in any given year between 1 January and 31 December was estimated in the preceding autumn by the Lords of the Admiralty in a document entitled ‘Declaration of victuals for the year x’. This document stated the needs for each major port so that the Commissioners could best distribute the victuals. Naturally, these figures were provisional and not 100 per cent accurate since they could only be based on the previous year's figures. In the event of war being declared, or the restoration of peace, a supplementary, modified inventory was issued.