William Rooke Creswell
| Sir William Rooke Creswell | |
|---|---|
Rear Admiral Sir William Creswell in 1918
|
|
| Born |
20 July 1852 Gibraltar |
| Died | 20 April 1933 (aged 80) Armadale, Victoria |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
Royal Navy (1865–78) Naval Defence Force of the Colony of South Australia (1885–01) Royal Australian Navy (1901–19) |
| Years of service | 1865–1879 1885–1919 |
| Rank | Vice Admiral |
| Commands held |
First Naval Member Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (1904–19) Naval Commandant Queensland (1900–04) HMCS Protector (1900–01) Naval Commandant South Australia (1893–00) HMS Lion (1878) |
| Battles/wars |
Boxer Rebellion First World War |
| Awards |
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Vice Admiral Sir William Rooke Creswell KCMG, KBE (20 July 1852 – 20 April 1933) was an Australian naval officer, commonly considered to be the 'father' of the Royal Australian Navy.
Creswell was born in Gibraltar, son of Edmund Creswell (head of the postal service at Gibraltar and for the Mediterranean), and Margaret Mary Ward, née Fraser. He was educated at Gibraltar and Eastman's Royal Naval Academy, Southsea.
Creswell's brother Edmund (1849–1931) played for the Royal Engineers in the first FA Cup Final in 1872. Another brother, Frederic (1866–1948) was a Labour Party politician in South Africa, who was Minister of Defence from 1924 to 1933.
Beginning his naval career at the age of 13 as a cadet on the Royal Navy's training ship Britannia, Creswell was promoted to midshipman in 1867 and on 20 October 1871 became a sub-lieutenant.
Having already served in the Channel Fleet, Creswell was transferred to the China Station. In 1873 while serving on the gunboat HMS Midge he was shot in the hip during a skirmish with pirates from the Laroot River, Penang Malaya but remained at his post. His bravery won him promotion to lieutenant but his wound meant returning to England to recuperate. Creswell's next seagoing appointment, to the East India Station, was followed by a period in Zanzibar, where he commanded a flotilla involved in suppressing the slave trade. Illness, however, again forced his return to England.
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