Sir Eric Norman Spencer Crankshaw | |
---|---|
Birth name | Eric Norman Spencer Crankshaw |
Nickname(s) | "Crankie" |
Born | Over Peover, Cheshire, England | 1 July 1885
Died | 24 June 1966 Reading, Berkshire, England | (aged 80)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service |
|
Unit | Royal Fusiliers |
Sir Eric Norman Spencer Crankshaw KCMG MBE (1 July 1885 – 24 June 1966) was an English cricketer, military officer and civil servant. He worked closely with Winston Churchill during both world wars.
Crankshaw was born 1 July 1885 in Over Peover, Cheshire, England, the son of Richard Louis Crankshaw[1] and his wife, Emily Spencer.[2] The family eventually included another son, Richard Spencer Crankshaw, and a daughter, Madeline Vernon Crankshaw.[2] The family's Irish home was Dunlewey Estate in the village of Dunlewey in County Donegal.[3]
As a youth, Crankshaw attended Eton College.[4]
Crankshaw made headlines in 1903 when, playing for Eton, he scored a century against Harrow at Lord's.[5] Eton won the match by 8 wickets.[5] Crankshaw later played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club as a right-handed batsman.[6] He made a single first-class appearance for the side, during the 1909 season, against Surrey.[6]
In 1906, Crankshaw joined the Royal Fusiliers in South Africa, having previously obtained a commission in The Liverpool Militia in 1905.[4][7][8] In 1915 at Ypres, having just arrived from India, Crankshaw was wounded, resulting in the loss of his left arm.[7] He spent six months recovering from pleurisy and pneumonia.[7] After his recovery, he joined the Royal Corps of Signals.[4] He later served as Camp Commandant of the IV Corps under Field Marshal Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, 1st Baronet.[4]
After WWI ended, he was tasked with handling the billeting arrangements for 300 members of the Supreme War Council at Versailles.[4][7] When the Versailles meetings concluded, Crankshaw was appointed as Private Secretary to Winston Churchill during his tenure as Secretary of State for War.[4] When Churchill left that office, Crankshaw submitted his papers and went into retirement in the country.[4]
During WWII, Crankshaw's organizational skills were again called into service when he was named Commandant of the New Public Offices Fortress, which included Churchill's War Rooms.[9]
In 1929, while Churchill was serving as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he selected Crankshaw to become Secretary of the Government Hospitality Fund.[4] The appointment required Crankshaw to take on the role of lead host and the responsibility of promoting international goodwill on behalf of the government.[4] His role also included oversight of Government Wine Cellar located at Lancaster House.[10] Events under Crankshaw's charge included dinners, receptions, informal lunches, and visits to places of interest for visiting dignitaries, but also arrangements for the 1937 Coronation of George VI.[11] He served in this capacity until his retirement in 1949.[12]
On 5 October 1912 at St Michael and All Angels' Church, Blackheath, London Crankshaw married Winifred Mary Ireland of Mauritius and London.[1] Winifred was the only daughter of George Hugh Ireland, the granddaughter of George Ireland, the founder of the firm Ireland Fraser & Co. Ltd,[1][13] and the great-granddaughter of The Rev. Dr. Walter Foggo Ireland, Minister of North Leith Parish Church. The couple met while Crankshaw was serving in Mauritius[7] and had the following children:[14]
Crankshaw's father died 29 November 1929 and is buried near the family's Dunlewey estate.[3] His father's second wife, Nellie, is buried in the Roman Catholic graveyard of the Sacred Heart Church in Moneybag, with her grave oriented to look towards her husband's grave.[3]
Crankshaw's brother-in-law, John Frederick Ireland, also played cricket and made 28 first-class appearances between 1908 and 1912.[19]
Crankshaw's actress granddaughter, Jasmina Hilton, daughter of Crankshaw's daughter Lella Margaret and her first husband, had a role in the horror film The Vault of Horror.[20]
Crankshaw died on 24 June 1966 at the age of 80 at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.[24]
St. Michael's Church, Parish of Charlton, London, England
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Next to the belfry tower there's the grave of Richard Lewis Crankshaw, owner of Dunlewey Estate, who died on November 29th, 1929. He was a Protestant but married a Catholic woman, Nellie, who is buried in the graveyard at the Sacred Heart Church in Moneybeg, about 2.7 km northwest (300°). Her grave was oriented so that she was able to look at her husband's grave.
E. N. S. Crankshaw, 4th Bn., Liverpool Regt.. Mark 1883
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Dec, 2002, Wandsworth, London
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John Anthony Norman Crankshaw was born on 17 October 1918.
He married Elspeth Lettyr Stirling, daughter of Lt.-Col. Walter Francis Stirling and Eileen Mary May Mackenzie-Edwards, on 10 October 1946.
Died 24 June 1966 at The Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading
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