Ernest Tristram Crutchley (10 February 1878 – 5 October 1940) was a British civil servant who was the predecessor of the first

British High Commissioner to Australia The High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Australia is an officer of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the United Kingdom's foremost Diplomat, diplomatic representative to the Commonwealth of Australia. Despite Britain's close relati ...

Career

Crutchley was educated at

Emanuel School Emanuel School is an independent, co-educational day school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded in 1594 by Anne Sackville, Lady Dacre and Queen Elizabeth I and occupies a 12-acre (4.9 ha) site close to Clapham Junction ra ...

and joined the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

as a "boy clerk" in 1893. In 1909 he was promoted from clerk to Assistant Surveyor "upon a special recommendation from the Postmaster-General." During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was appointed to organise the Army postal service and was commissioned in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

with the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He ended the war as an acting

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and was appointed

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. After the war he served in the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...

1919–21, then on the staff of the last

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

until the establishment of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

in 1922. In 1928 he was appointed "British Government Representative for Migration in Australia", and in 1931 he became "Representative in the Commonwealth of Australia of HM Government in the United Kingdom" pending the appointment of the first British High Commissioner to Australia. In 1935 he was recalled by the Post Office to serve as Public Relations Officer, then was Public Relations Officer in the Ministry of Home Security, 1939–40 "to undertake the difficult task of explaining to the public the importance of the new Civil Defence measures." He retired due to ill health shortly before his death. Crutchley was appointed OBE in 1919 and promoted to CBE in 1926. He was appointed CMG in the

1932 New Year Honours The 1932 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 29 December 1931. The recipients of honour ...

and CB in the

1935 Birthday Honours The 1935 Birthday Honours for the British Empire were announced on 3 June 1935 to celebrate the Birthday and Silver Jubilee of King George V. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged b ...

References

CRUTCHLEY, Ernest Tristram
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2016 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crutchley, Ernest 1878 births 1940 deaths People educated at Emanuel School Civil servants in the General Post Office British Army personnel of World War I Royal Engineers officers Civil servants in Ireland (1801–1922) Australian colonial governors and administrators Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George