Eric Norman Spencer Crankshaw

Sir Eric Norman Spencer Crankshaw KCMG CMG 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.

Sir Eric Norman Spencer Crankshaw
Birth nameEric Norman Spencer Crankshaw
Nickname(s)"Crankie"
Born(1885-07-01)1 July 1885
Over Peover, Cheshire, England
Died24 June 1966(1966-06-24) (aged 80)
Reading, Berkshire, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service
  • 1905–1921
  • 1943–1945
UnitRoyal Fusiliers

Early life

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]

Cricket

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]

Military career

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]

Civil service

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]

Family

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]

  • Lella Margaret Crankshaw (1916–2002),[15] firstly married diplomat Abdol Hossein Hamzavi,[7] later her married name was Millar[15]
  • Major John Anthony Norman Crankshaw (1918–2000),[16][17] married Elspeth Lettyr Stirling, daughter of Lt.-Col. Walter Francis Stirling[18]

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]

Awards
  • 1919 - Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), Military Division[21]
  • 1934 - Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)[22]
  • 1939 - Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG)[23]

Death

Crankshaw died on 24 June 1966 at the age of 80 at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.[24]

References
  1. All London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754–1932. Ancestry.com. St. Michael's Church, Parish of Charlton, London, England
  2. "Wills". Gloucestershire, England: Gloucester Journal. 20 May 1915.
  3. "Dunlewey Church". Irish Stones; Over 600 Years of Irish Stone History. Dunlewey, County Donegal, Ireland. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2018. 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.
  4. "More Celebrities in Cameo, No. 18, Major Crankshaw". Fleet Street, London, England. The Bystander. 5 May 1937. p. 197.
  5. "Eton v. Harrow, Unmistakabe Superiority of the Light Blues, Century by E. N. S. Crankshaw". Greater Manchester, England. Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 11 July 1903.
  6. "ESPN cricinfo". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  7. "At The Court of St. James's". London, England: The Tatler. 23 June 1948.
  8. "Commissions in the Army". London, England. Navy & Army Gazette. 4 November 1905. p. 1036. E. N. S. Crankshaw, 4th Bn., Liverpool Regt.. Mark 1883
  9. Holmes, Richard (2009). Churchill's Bunker: The Secret Headquarters at the Heart of Britain's Victory. London: Profile Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84668-225-4. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  10. Charles Graves (7 July 1934). "Guests of the Government; How Britain Entertains Her Distinguished Visitors". London, England. The Sphere.
  11. "Britain's Guests; The Government's "Housekeeper"' Teetotaller with a Knowledge of Wines". West Midlands, England. The Midland Daily Telegraph; Coventry Evening Telegraph. 22 September 1938. p. 3.
  12. "New Government "host"". West Yorkshire, England. Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 17 March 1949. p. 2.
  13. Allister Macmillan (2000). Mauritius Illustrated: Historical and Descriptive, Commercial and Industrial Facts, Figures, & Resources. Google Books. Mauritius: Asian Educational Services. pp. 353–354. ISBN 9788120615083. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  14. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar, 1858–1966. Ancestry.com. 1966. p. 602.
  15. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007. Ancestry.com. Dec, 2002, Wandsworth, London
  16. David Twiston Davies (2006). The Daily Telegraph Military Obituaries, Book 2. Grub Street. p. 24. ISBN 9781904943600. John Anthony Norman Crankshaw was born on 17 October 1918.
  17. Crankshaw, John Anthony N. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007. Ancestry.com.
  18. "Major John Anthony Norman Crankshaw". The Peerage. Retrieved 15 April 2018. He married Elspeth Lettyr Stirling, daughter of Lt.-Col. Walter Francis Stirling and Eileen Mary May Mackenzie-Edwards, on 10 October 1946.
  19. "ESPN cricinfo". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  20. "Jasmina Hilton, Actress". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  21. "Birthday Honours". Gloucestershire, England. Gloucester Journal. 7 June 1919. p. 7.
  22. "Gloucestershire Interest in Birthday Honours". Gloucestershire, England. Gloucestershire Echo. 1 January 1934. p. 1.
  23. "Birthday Honours". Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Aberdeen Press and Journal. 8 June 1939.
  24. Crankshaw, Sir Eric Norman Spencer (1966). "England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995". Ancestry.com: 602. Died 24 June 1966 at The Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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