Sir William Dawson Croft, KCB, KBE, CIE, CVO (16 August 1892 – 18 August 1964) was an English civil servant. Educated at

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, he entered the civil service as an administrative official in the India Office in 1919; he served as

private secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...

to three secretaries of state, from 1931 to 1936 and was then deputy secretary from 1941 to 1947. He was Chairman of the

Board of Customs and Excise HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was th ...

from 1947 to 1955, after which he chaired the commission recommending trade and tariff policy ahead of the establishment of the

West Indies Federation The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that ...

in 1958."Croft, Sir William Dawson"
''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'' (online ed.,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2021). Retrieved 13 September 2021.

References

1892 births 1964 deaths English civil servants Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order {{UK-gov-bio-stub