Sir William Crossman (30 June 1830 – 19 April 1901) was an officer 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 ...

and a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

politician.

Life

Crossman was born at

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, the son of Robert Crossman and his wife Sarah. His father was a brewer of

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

who joined forces with Thomas Paulin to establish a brewery at Isleworth which was to become Mann, Crossman & Paulin. Robert Crossman returned to Berwick and acquired the manor of Holy Island and the family property at

Cheswick, Northumberland Cheswick is a village in Northumberland, England. It is situated approximately south-east of Berwick-upon-Tweed, between the A1 and the North Sea coast. Governance Cheswick is in the parliamentary constituency of Berwick-upon-Twee ...

. In December 1848, Crossman became a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers. He was sent to Western Australia and arrived there aboard on 30 January 1852. Crossman was in charge of various public works in Australia from 1852 to 1856, and became a Magistrate of the Colony at

Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a ...

. He returned to England and from 1857 to 1861, he was under Inspector-General of Fortifications at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, becoming captain in 1858. He then went to Canada where he was temporarily on the staff of

Quartermaster-General to the Forces The Quartermaster-General to the Forces (QMG) is a senior general in the British Army. The post has become symbolic: the Ministry of Defence organisation charts since 2011 have not used the term "Quartermaster-General to the Forces"; they simply ...

, on the march of troops from Halifax to Riviere du Loup in December 1861 and was then Secretary to the Royal Commission on defences of Canada. From 1866 to 1869 he was in charge of Diplomatic and Consular Buildings in China and Japan, and in 1869 at Constantinople too. He was a member of Treasury Committee on the Irish Board of Works in 1870. He was promoted to major in 1872 and to lieutenant-colonel in 1873. From 1874 to 1875 he was assistant director of Works for Fortifications. In 1875, he was in charge of the Royal Commission into the Black Flag Rebellion at

Griqualand West Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, wh ...

which was appointed by

Lord Carnarvon Earl of Carnarvon is a title that has been created three times in British history. The current holder is George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon. The town and county in Wales to which the title refers are historically spelled ''Caernarfon,'' havi ...

and sat in Kimberley in January 1876. Crossman was placed in charge of submarine defences at the War Office in 1876 and became colonel in 1878. In 1881 he was on special service to report on the defences of the principal colonieswhich included a visit to New Zealand. He was on a Royal Commission to inquire into the Public Revenues of the West Indies from 1882 to 1883. He commanded the Royal Engineers in the Southern District from 1882 to 1885 and was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in 1884. On retirement in 1886, he became major-general. He was an associate member of

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 ...

. At the 1885 general election Crossman was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. When the

Home Rule Bill The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...

split the Liberal Party, Crossman voted against the measure and joined the

s, holding off a challenge from the official Liberal candidate at Portsmouth in 1886. He did not seek re-election in

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

. He was

High Sheriff of Northumberland This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries ...

in 1894. Crossman's official residence was Cheswick, Beal, Northumberland, but he died in Plymouth at the age of 70.

Family

Crossman married Catherine Josephine Morley (the daughter of John Lawrence Morley) in Albany, Western Australia on 3 March 1855. They had six children, including sons Robert and Lawrence, and daughters Mary and Alice. On 29 June 1899, he married Annie Richards.

Legacy

Crossman Road in Kimberley South Africa is named after him.Kimberley Historical Streets
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crossman, William 1830 births 1901 deaths People from Isleworth Royal Engineers officers Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George High Sheriffs of Northumberland