William Rooke Creswell KCMG (1852 - 1933)

Born 20 Jul 1852 in Gibraltar

Husband of Adelaide Elizabeth (Stow) Creswell — married 29 Dec 1888 in St Jude Church, Port Elliot, South Australia

Died 20 Apr 1933 at age 80 in Victoria, Australia

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Biography

AWM 6 photos

William Creswell KCMG is Notable.

• Obituary. 1933 ^[1], ^[2]

The death occurred tonight of Vice Admiral Sir William Creswell formerly Director of the Commonwealth Naval Forces, and First Naval Member of the Commonwealth Naval Board. He retired 14 years ago, and had been in ill health for some time. He had a distinguished career in the British and Australian Navies.

Born on July 20, 1852, at Gibraltar, where his father, Mr. Edmund Creswell, was Deputy Postmaster-General, he entered the Royal Navy as a cadet in December, 1865, and learned the rudiments of his profession on H.M.S. Britannia. He served in the First Flying Squadron, commanded by the late Admiral Hornby, in H.M. frigate Phoebe. In 1871 he was promoted sub-lieutenant and appointed to the Thalia, on the China station. He was specially promoted for his services in suppressing piracy on the Laroot River, Penang, in 1873, and from 1872 was on the complement of H.M.S. London, engaged in the suppression of the slave trade, for his services in which connection he received the thanks of the Foreign Minister. He retired, after having been invalided, in 1878.

Subsequently he took service under the South Australian Government in 1885, was appointed commander in 1891, and post-captain in 1894. He was Naval Commandant of South Australia for several years, and took the State's gunboat, HMS Protector, to the China war in 1900. In the last mentioned year he was appointed to Queensland to take command of the Marine Defence Forces in that State, and in February, 1904, he was temporarily appointed Naval Commandant of the Commonwealth Forces.

In 1909, in company with Col. J. F. G. Foxton, CMG, he attended the Imperial Conference which resulted in Australia's co-operation in sea defence, and was chiefly and actively instrumental in the creation of the Australian Navy. Sir William Creswell subsequently received the appointment of First Naval Member of the Commonwealth Naval Board of Administration, and of the Council of Defence. He was knighted in 1911.

Vice-Admiral Creswell was married in 1888 to Adelaide Elizabeth, daughter of the late Mr. Justice Stowe, of South Australia. Lady Creswell survives him. A married daughter lives in South Africa; one son, Mr. Edward Creswell, is shire engineer at Ararat; and a younger son, Mr. Peter Creswell, is on the land. Two other sons were killed in the Great War. A brother of Sir William Creswell is Lieut.-Col F. H. P. Creswell, leader of a section of the Labor Party in South Africa, and a former Minister for Defence and Labor.

Sources

1. ↑ Advertiser (Adelaide), 21 April 1933, p 20
2. ↑ http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/creswell-sir-william-rooke-5817

• Burial citation

BillionGraves
Prefix Vice Admiral | First name(s) William Rooke | Last name Creswell
Birth year - | Death year 1933 | Death date 20 Apr 1933
Cemetery Brighton General Cemetery | City Caulfield South | State Victoria
Image link Country Australia Record set Australia Billion Graves Cemetery Index

• Miltary citation

FindMyPast First name(s) William Rooke Last name Creswell Rank Captain Year 1899-1900 State South Australia Country Australia Record set South Australia Boxer Rebellion Contingent Category Armed forces & conflict

• Captain Creswell (as he was then) was the President of the United Service Club, Brisbane in 1901 and 1903. . . with Portrait - page 8.

See also:

• Visit : VWMA Virtual Memorial William Rooke Creswell
  
• AWM portrait of Vice Admiral Sir William Creswell by Irene Hill (1982 )