Addison Joe Baker-Cresswell | |
---|---|
Born | 2 February 1901 Mayfair, London |
Died | 4 March 1997 (aged 96) Bamburgh, Northumberland |
Buried | St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh, Northumberland, England |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1919–1951 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | HMS Tiger HMS Castor HMS Veronica HMS Adventure HMS Nelson HMS Rodney |
Commands held | HMS Arrow HMS Bulldog HMS Gambia |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | DSO |
Other work | High Sheriff of Northumberland |
Captain Addison Joe Baker-Cresswell DSO (2 February 1901 – 4 March 1997) was a Royal Navy officer, aide-de-camp to King George VI and High Sheriff of Northumberland. He is noted prominently for his role as the commanding officer of HMS Bulldog during the capture of U-110, from which an intact Enigma cipher machine was seized.
Baker-Cresswell was born in Mayfair, London, the younger of the two sons of Major Addison Francis Baker-Cresswell (1874–1921), a Grenadier Guards officer and a member of a landowning family from Northumberland, and his wife Idonea Fitzherbert Widdrington (1869–1967).[1] The elder brother, John Baker-Cresswell (1899–1920), was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy who was drowned in an accident at Portsmouth.[1] His younger sister Violet Rosemary Cresswell (b. 1904), was acting as lady in waiting to Queen Marie of Yugoslavia during her years of exile in Great Britain.
Baker-Cresswell was educated at Gresham's School, Holt,[1] where he was a member of the school's Officer Training Corps.
On 24 August 1926, Baker-Cresswell married Rona Eileen Vaile, the daughter of H. E. Vaile, of Glade Hall, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand. They had three children: two daughters, Rosemary (born 1928) and Pamela (born 1931), and one son, Charles (born 1935).[1]
In retirement, Baker-Cresswell settled at Budle Hall in Northumberland, managing his estate near Bamburgh. He became a Justice of the Peace and was High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1962. He was also a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron.[1] He died in Bamburgh, Northumberland, aged 96.
The movie U-571 was based on Baker-Cresswell's capture of the German Enigma machine, with the action transferred to the Mediterranean and the heroes becoming Americans.
The film was raised at Prime Minister's Question Time where Tony Blair agreed with questioner Brian Jenkins MP that the film was "an affront" to British sailors.
On BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Charles Baker-Cresswell commented. "It's a typical American approach. We've seen this time and time again."[3]