Francis Allen Newton Cromie

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Acting Captain Francis Allen Newton Cromie, C.B., D.S.O., (30 January, 1882 – 31 August, 1918) was an officer in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

Born in Waterford, Cromie gained seven months' time on passing out of Britannia. His first naval appointment was to Repulse, on 1 June, 1898.[1]

Cromie was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 15 June, 1903.[2]

Cromie was awarded the Royal Humane Society Bronze Medal for trying to save life at Spithead on 5 February, 1906.[3]

Cromie was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 15 June, 1911.[4]

Cromie was appointed to Dido for command of the submarine E 4 on 31 August, 1912.[5]

Lieutenant-Commander Cromie was appointed in command of the sloop Rosario on 5 November, 1913 and in command of a submarine flotilla operating out of Hong Kong.

On 13 March, 1915, Cromie returned from Hong Kong in the P. & O. steamer Sardinia, arriving 17 April. He was appointed to Maidstone, additional, to take command of E 19 upon her commissioning.

On 7 November, 1915, Cromie sank the light cruiser Undine in the Baltic.

Cromie was promoted to the rank of Commander on 31 December, 1915.[6]

Cromie was promoted to the rank of Acting Captain on 19 October, 1917.[7]

Cromie was awarded the C.B. (mil) for his services as Naval Attacheé in Russia, but was shot dead by Bolshevik soldiers who resisted his entry into the British Embassy at Petrograd on 31 August, 1918, after killing three soldiers himself. His widow was invested with his C.B. by the King at Buckingham Palace on 29 October, 1918.[8]

See Also

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
George B. Lewis
Captain of H.M.S. C 5
25 Aug, 1908[9] – 8 Aug, 1910[10]
Succeeded by
Julian T. Tenison
Preceded by
?
In Command, Devonport Submarine Flotilla
1 Mar, 1910[11][12] – 10 May, 1912[13]
Succeeded by
George H. Pownall
as In Command, First Submarine Flotilla
Preceded by
Ernest W. Leir
Captain of H.M.S. Onyx
8 Aug, 1910[14][15] – 15 Aug, 1912[16]
Succeeded by
George H. Pownall
Preceded by
William R. D. Crowther
Captain of H.M.S. D 1
10 May, 1912[17][18] – 15 Aug, 1912[19]
Succeeded by
Archibald D. Cochrane
Preceded by
New Command
Captain of H.M.S. E 4
31 Aug, 1912[20] – Oct, 1913[21]
Succeeded by
Ernest W. Leir
Preceded by
Nicholas E. Archdale
In Command, Hong Kong Submarine Flotilla
c. mid Aug, 1913[22] – Mar, 1915[23]
Succeeded by
?
Preceded by
Nicholas E. Archdale
Captain of H.M.S. Rosario
5 Nov, 1913[24][25] – Mar, 1915[26]
Succeeded by
?
Preceded by
?
Captain of H.M.S. E 19
1 Jul, 1915[27] – 1 May, 1917
Succeeded by
George A. C. Sharp
Preceded by
Harold G. Grenfell
as Royal Navy Naval Attaché at St. Petersburg
Royal Navy Naval Attaché at Petrograd
10 Jan, 1918[28] – 31 Aug, 1918[29]
Succeeded by
?

Footnotes

  1. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  2. The Navy List. (March, 1913). p. 18.
  3. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  4. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  5. The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 343.
  6. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  7. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  8. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  9. The Navy List. (April, 1910). p. 385.
  10. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  11. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  12. The Navy List. (January, 1912). p. 350.
  13. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  14. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  15. The Navy List. (January, 1912). p. 350.
  16. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  17. "Naval Appointments." The Times (London, England), 7 May 1912, p. 6.
  18. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  19. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  20. The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 343.
  21. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  22. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), 22 Aug. 1913, p. 8.
  23. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  24. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  25. The Navy List. (January, 1915). p. 377a.
  26. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  27. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.
  28. The Navy List. (July, 1918). p. 1817.
  29. Cromie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47/86. f. 291.