Frederic Creswell
| Frederic Hugh Page Creswell | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Minister of Defence | |
|
In office 30 June 1924 – 29 March 1933 |
|
| Prime Minister | J. B. M. Hertzog |
| Preceded by | Hendrik Mentz |
| Succeeded by | Oswald Pirow |
| Leader of the South African Labour Party | |
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In office 1910–1928/1933 |
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| Succeeded by | Walter Madeley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 November 1866 |
| Died | 25 August 1948 (aged 81) |
| Nationality | South African |
| Political party | Labour (1910-1933) |
| Other political affiliations |
National (1933-1934) |
Colonel Frederic Hugh Page Creswell DSO (13 November 1866 – 25 August 1948) was a Labour Party politician in South Africa. He was Minister of Defence from 30 June 1924 to 29 March 1933.
The son of Edmund Creswell, Deputy Postmaster-General at Gibraltar and Surveyor of the Mediterranean, by his marriage to Mary M. W. Fraser, Creswell was born in Gibraltar and educated in England at Bruce Castle, Derby School, and the Royal School of Mines.
Creswell's brother Edmund (1849–1931) played for the Royal Engineers in the first FA Cup Final in 1872. Another brother, William (1852–1933), became a vice-admiral and is known as the "father" of the Royal Australian Navy.
Creswell worked as a mining engineer in Venezuela, Asia Minor, Rhodesia and the Transvaal before becoming manager of the Deep Mine, Durban. At the outset of the Second Boer War in 1899 he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the newly raised Imperial Light Horse. When mining on the Witwatersrand began again, he became General Manager of the Village Main Reef Mine. After strongly opposing Chinese labourers being imported to the Transvaal, he resigned as manager in 1903, going on to take a leading role in the campaign to end the use of Chinese labour and “became the champion of the white labourer”, advocating the use of white labour, and white immigration, as the solution to South Africa's labour problems.
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