Victor Alexander Charles Crutchley

He took command under fire and kept a sinking launch afloat.

Born in London on 2 November 1893, Victor Alexander Charles Crutchley entered the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1906 and served at sea during the First World War. He was aboard HMS Centurion at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. In 1918, he joined the Dover Patrol and volunteered for the dangerous effort to block the German-held ports of Zeebrugge and Ostend, which U-boats used to reach Allied shipping.

On 23 April, Crutchley served as first lieutenant of HMS Brilliant during the first attempt to block Ostend. The operation failed to close the harbour, but he volunteered to try again. For this earlier service, he received the Distinguished Service Cross. In the second raid, on the night of 9–10 May, he was first lieutenant aboard HMS Vindictive. The ship entered the harbour under heavy fire to be scuttled between the piers. When the captain was killed and the second-in-command severely wounded, Crutchley took command and manoeuvred Vindictive into position.

After the charges were fired and the ship sunk, Crutchley searched the vessel by torchlight for survivors while the crew came under fire. He then transferred to motor launch ML 254 and took command when its own commander, severely wounded, could no longer lead. The launch was crowded with casualties, badly damaged, and taking on water. Crutchley and the unwounded men kept it afloat by baling and shifting weight until HMS Warwick found them. His Victoria Cross recognized his leadership during both the attack and the perilous evacuation.

Crutchley remained in the Navy between the wars and commanded the battleship HMS Warspite. During the Second World War he served with the Royal Navy and, from 1942, as rear admiral commanding the Australian Squadron. At the Battle of Savo Island in August 1942, he was away from the patrol line at a conference ordered by his superior when Japanese ships surprised the Allied force and sank or disabled four cruisers, including HMAS Canberra. Crutchley remained in command through the following campaigns in the South-West Pacific, handing over in 1944. He retired in 1947 and was promoted to admiral on the retired list in 1949. He later served as high sheriff and deputy lieutenant of Dorset. He died at Nettlecombe on 24 January 1986 and was buried at Powerstock.

Victoria Cross citation

This officer was in “Brilliant” in the unsuccessful attempt to block Ostend on the night of 22nd/23rd April, and at once volunteered for a further effort. He acted as 1st Lieut. of “Vindictive,” and worked with untiring energy fitting out that ship for further service. On the night of 9th/10th May, after his commanding officer had been killed and the second in command severely wounded, Lieut. Crutchley took command of “Vindictive” and did his utmost by manoeuvring the engines to place that ship in an effective position. He displayed great bravery both in the “Vindictive” and in M.L. 254, which rescued the crew after the charges had been blown and the former vessel sunk between the piers of Ostend harbour, and did not himself leave the “Vindictive” until he had made a thorough search with an electric torch for survivors under a very heavy fire. Lieut. Crutchley took command of M.L. 254 when the commanding officer sank exhausted from his wounds, the second in command having been killed. The vessel was full of wounded and very seriously damaged by shell fire, the fore part being flooded. With indomitable energy and by dint of baling with buckets and shifting weight aft, Lieut. Crutchley and the unwounded kept her afloat, but the leaks could not be kept under, and she was in a sinking condition, with her forecastle nearly awash when picked up by H.M.S. “Warwick.” The bearing of this very gallant officer and fine seaman throughout these operations off the Belgian coast was altogether admirable and an inspiring example to all thrown in contact with him.