Sir William Crossley, 1st Baronet

Sir William Crossley

Sir William John Crossley, 1st Baronet (22 April 1844 – 12 October 1911) was a British engineer and Liberal politician.

W J Crossley was born at Glenburn, near Lisburn, County Antrim. His ancestors had come to Ireland from Lancashire at the time of the Williamite War.[1] He was educated at the Royal School Dungannon and in Bonn.[1]

He was first employed at the machine works of W G Armstrong, Elswick, before joining his brother, Francis to found the Crossley Brothers engineering firm in Manchester in 1867.[1] In 1876 the company began the production of gas engines, and the firm went on to be major employers.[1]

In 1906 he was asked to stand as Liberal candidate for the parliamentary constituency of Altrincham, and defeated the sitting Conservative MP, Coningsby Disraeli. He was created a baronet in 1909.[2] He lost his parliamentary seat at the December 1910 election by 119 votes.[1]

Crossley was involved in philanthropic works. He was Chairman of the Manchester Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Throat and Chest and built a sanitorium at Delamere Forest for patients from Lancashire towns at his own expense.[3] In 1903 he was given the freedom of the City of Manchester for his philanthropic work and donations.[4] He was president of Manchester YMCA, and one of the original promoters of the Manchester Ship Canal. He was a teetotaler and treasurer of the United Kingdom Alliance, a temperance organisation.[1]

In 1876 he married Mabel Gordon Anderson.[1] Sir William and Lady Crossley had five children:[5]

  • Kenneth Irwin Crossley (1877–1957), who succeeded as 2nd Baronet, and was High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1919.
  • Eric Crossley (1878–1949)
  • Brian Crossley (b. 1886)
  • Lettice Crossley (b. 1879) and Cicely Crossley (b. 1880). Both Lettice and Cicely died as infants.

He died aged 67 in 1911, following complications from an operation.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Obituary: Sir W. J. Crossley, The Times, 13 October 1911, p.9
  2. ^ "No. 128312". The London Gazette. 26 November 1909. p. 8934.
  3. ^ Davies, Robert Price (2002). Baguley and Wythenshawe Hospitals. Manchester. ISBN 0954339207.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36972. London. 8 January 1903. p. 7.
  5. ^ Eyre, Michael; Heaps, Chris & Townsin, Alan (2002). Crossley. UK: OPC. ISBN 0-86093-574-4.