Henry Francis Cronin

CBE 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 ...

, MC, BSc (Eng) (1894–1977) was a British

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

and

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contextu ...

.. He served in the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

and 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 ...

during the

First World War 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 ...

and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

for constructing defensive works and taking part in assaults under heavy fire. Cronin was appointed chief engineer of London's

Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functi ...

in 1939 and held that position until 1959. During the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

he worked hard to maintain water supplies for fire fighting.

Early life and First World War

Henry Francis Cronin was born in

Ketton Ketton is a village and civil parish in Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is about east of Oakham and west of Stamford, Lincolnshire. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 1,926, making it the fourth largest settlement in ...

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

in 1894. He studied engineering and was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree. Cronin served as a

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

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 commissioned in September 1914 and was appointed to the rank of Temporary Lieutenant in the

. He transferred in the same rank to the

on 19 May 1917. Whilst serving with the Royal Engineers, Cronin was awarded the

in 1918 for gallantry in battle at an unspecified location. He was ordered to follow behind an attacking infantry unit with a

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sign ...

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...

s and to assist with the construction of strongpoints to make the position more defendable. Cronin reached the front with his men and immediately began the construction of field defences despite being under extremely heavy enemy fire from a flank. This fire eventually became so heavy that he halted works and assisted the infantry with the mopping up of enemy resistance. In the course of this Cronin assaulted enemy positions and captured several

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

. He then resumed construction of the defensive works. Cronin's actions were said, in his medal citation, to have "very greatly helped" the success of the attack.

Second World War

Cronin was appointed Chief Engineer of the

in 1939 and remained in that post throughout the war. During the period of the

he worked hard to maintain water supplies, essential for fire fighting and vulnerable to bomb damage. During the bombings breaks averaged one per day per 100 miles of water pipe, rising to one break per day per mile in some areas of London. Cronin resumed his association with the military on 29 October 1943 when he was appointed

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 ...

of the

Engineer and Railway Staff Corps The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps is a part of the Royal Engineers in the British Army Reserve. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the British Army at a senior level. Following its work creating the NHS Nighting ...

, an unpaid Territorial Army unit which provided technical expertise to the British Army. By this stage he was a professional member of both the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

and the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

. In 1944, he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

for services to Civil Defence.

Post-war

In 1942 and 1945 Cronin served as president of the

Institution of Water Engineers Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...

. He was a member of the

American Water Works Association American Water Works Association (AWWA) is an international non-profit, scientific and educational association founded to improve water quality and supply. Established in 1881, it is a lobbying organization representing a membership (as of 2012) o ...

from 1944 and in 1956 was awarded honorary membership in recognition for his devotion to duty during the

. Cronin wrote a report on the flooding in the

Lea Valley The Lea Valley, the valley of the River Lea, has been used as a transport corridor, a source of sand and gravel, an industrial area, a water supply for London, and a recreational area. The London 2012 Summer Olympics were based in Stratford, in ...

following the

Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom The winter of 1946–1947 was a harsh European winter noted for its adverse effects in the United Kingdom. It caused severe hardships in economic terms and living conditions in a country still recovering from the Second World War. There were ma ...

. Cronin was promoted to

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps on 6 September 1950. Cronin retired from the corps on 25 February 1957, receiving permission to retain the use of his rank. Cronin was elected president of the Institution of Civil Engineers in May 1952 for the November 1952 to November 1953 session. Cronin addressed the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in 1953 and in 1954 was appointed a fellow of

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. Cronin retired from the Metropolitan Water Board in 1959 and died in 1977.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cronin, Henry 1894 births 1977 deaths Military personnel from Rutland Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers officers Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Engineers officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Ketton Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers British Army personnel of World War I Engineer and Railway Staff Corps officers