Sir Herbert James Creedy, GCB, KCVO (3 May 1878 – 3 April 1973) was a British civil servant who spent his career at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, where he served as

Permanent Under-Secretary of State for War Permanent may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Permanent'' (film), a 2017 American film * ''Permanent'' (Joy Division album) * "Permanent" (song), by David Cook *"Permanent", a song by Alex Lahey from ''The Answer Is Always Yes'', 2023 Other ...

from 1924 to 1939.

Biography

He received classical education at St. John's College, Oxford but after a brief period of work as a scholar there moved on to the

as a clerk in 1901 (he continued classical studies as a hobby later in life) and rose within ranks to become private secretary to the secretary of state in 1913. Creedy was Secretary of the War Office from 1920 to 1924 and Permanent Under-Secretary of State for War from 1924 to 1939. His uninterrupted service at one department was longer than Sir

Maurice Hankey Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey, (1 April 1877 – 26 January 1963) was a British civil servant who gained prominence as the first Cabinet Secretary and later made the rare transition from the civil service to ministerial office. ...

's. After his retirement Creedy was the governor of Wellington College and the commissioner of the

Royal Hospital, Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II of Eng ...

. He disliked the RAF strategic bombing practices and argued against the creation of the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

References

* https://www-oxforddnb-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-30982 {{DEFAULTSORT:Creedy, Herbert 1878 births 1973 deaths Place of birth missing Place of death missing Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Civil servants in the War Office