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When he was sworn in on Tuesday, Richard Cripwell became the first Royal Engineer in the office of Lieutenant-Governor for nearly 70 years. The last before him, Sir Philip Neame, led a truly extraordinary life of adventure, courage and service.
Sir Philip's story has left a lasting impact on Lt.-Governor Cripwell. And during his five-year tenure as the personal representative of the Sovereign in the Bailiwick, Lt.-Governor Cripwell, the 126th holder of the office, hopes to share Sir Philip’s legacy with visitors to Government House.
“He wasn’t just a man who on the face of it staggered from one thing to the next. His was a life of consequence,” said Lt.-Governor Cripwell, who was commissioned into the Corps of Royal Engineers in August 1982 and rose to the rank of Lieutenant General.
“I’m honoured that my name has been mentioned on the same page, let alone paragraph, of his story,
"It’s very important to me actually. His portrait and his wife’s portrait are in Government House. I’ve had them moved into the dining room, so people get to know Sir Philip a little bit better.
“It’s a life that does not deserve to be forgotten.”
Pictured: A parade was held earlier this week to welcome Lt.-Governor Cripwell to the island.
Sir Philip was Guernsey's Lt.-Governor between 1945 and 1953. He remains the longest-serving Lt.-Governor since the role was restructured in the mid-19th Century.
While at Government House, Sir Philip fathered twin boys, Nigel and Philip, now in their mid-70s.
"Our father would have been delighted to see a distinguished Sapper once again appointed as Her Majesty’s representative to the Bailiwick of Guernsey,” they said.
“We send our best wishes to General Richard for a rewarding tenure."
Pictured: Lt-Governor Richard Cripwell was born in Northern Ireland and educated in Dublin. A Royal Engineer, he follows in the footsteps of Sir Philip Neame.
Who was Sir Philip Neame?
Sir Philip Neame arrived in Guernsey to become Lt.-Governor in August 1945. This was immediately after the Occupation and Sir Philip played his part in restoring civil administration in the Bailiwick in the wake of the Nazis.
Sir Philip had led an extraordinary life of service to the military.
At the age of 26, he was awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military award, for his actions while fighting in France. He held off military forces for 45 minutes with hand grenades made out of jam tins, which he had fashioned himself.
The London Gazette reported: "On 19 December 1914 at Neuve Chapelle, France, Lieutenant Neame, in the face of very heavy fire, engaged the Germans in a single-handed bombing attack, killing and wounding a number of them. He was able to check the enemy advance for three-quarters of an hour and to rescue all the wounded whom it was possible to move."
Sir Philip was honoured for his war service in France with the Legion d'honneur in January 1919 and the Croix de guerre six months later.
Pictured: Sir Philip Neame is welcomed back to his home town of Faversham in Kent after being awarded the Victoria Cross at the age of 26. (Credit: United Grand Lodge of England Twitter account).
Sir Philip won an Olympic Gold medal in the 1924 Paris Olympics as part of Great Britain's Running Deer team.
The Running Deer competition was one of the shooting events at the Games. It involved teams of four and a moving target simulating the animal.
Sir Philip remains the only person ever to have been awarded a Victoria Cross and an Olympic medal.
He was then posted to India, where in 1933 he was badly mauled by a tigress while hunting. His nurse, Harriet Alberta Drew, went on to become his wife.
Pictured: Sir Philip Neame (left of the camera) on the set of Seagulls Over Sorrento with actor Sid James (far right).
In August 1940, he was made General Officer Commanding British Forces in Palestine and Trans-Jordan. His responsibilities were mainly in internal security. The local police forces were placed under his direction.
He then commanded forces in the eastern part of what is today known as Libya. He was captured by German forces and transported for incarceration in Italy. He took part in a number of escape attempts before securing his freedom again in 1943. He spent much of his time in prison writing his memoirs.
He was appointed Lt.-Governor of Guernsey in 1945 and knighted in 1946.
While serving as Lt.-Governor, Sir Philip worked to repatriate evacuees, repair infrastructure and organise the clearance of 76,000 mines.
Sir Philip is also the nephew of one of the founders of Shepherd Neame, the Kent brewery that produces Spitfire.
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