Glasgow And Ships Of The Clyde

Death of Capt. William McCreadie of Ardrossan

From "The Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald" dated 8th March 1963.

OBITUARY
CAPT. WILLIAM McCREADIE, O.B.E.

We regret to record the death of Capt. William McCreadie, 175 Glasgow Street, Ardrossan, which occurred at an Ayrshire Hospital last Sunday.
He was 76.

Captain McCreadie, who retired in 1946, was one of the declining number of master mariners who gained certificates for both sail and steam.

Born in Ballantrae, he came to Ardrossan with his parents over 70 years ago, and was later one of four brothers to hold a master's ticket.

His first voyage, which was in a sailing ship from Ardrossan in 1901, ended in disaster, when the vessel caught fire and became a total loss, although all the crew were saved.
This was the first of a number of narrow escapes he experienced during his long and distinctive career in the mercantile service.

He served throughout two world wars and was awarded the O.B.E. in 1944 for gallantry at sea.
On that occasion he remained on the bridge day and night after his ship, which was in convoy from America to Hull, had been shelled by the enemy, and he succeeded in bringing the vessel to Glasgow after the convoy scattered.

In 1926, Capt. McCreadie had the unique honour of being presented with a pair of binoculars from the German Government for saving the crew of a German schooner, the "Anne Marie," which foundered at sea.

For two years during the 1930s, Capt. McCreadie was a pilot on the China coast and, before that, he served for five years on South American oil tankers.

His brothers, James and Peter, were lost at sea during the last war, and another brother, Edward, who was also a ship's master, now lives in retirement in Saltcoats.

Captain McCreadie, whose youngest brother John, has his home in New Zealand, is survived by his wife and a family of two daughters, both married, to whom sympathy is extended in their bereavement.