For almost 25 years Joseph Woolley served the Admiralty as a teacher, inspector of schools and as the first Admiralty Director of Education. Despite the fact that Woolley held this post for a decade, that he was the sole occupant in the nineteenth century and that in this capacity he gave evidence to, or was a member of, every government committee to examine the subject of naval education over a 30 year period, his work is largely unknown. In this paper Woolley's contribution to naval education is considered. His Admiralty employment coincided with the most momentous period of change in naval education in the nineteenth century and almost no part of this process was untouched by his contribution.