force must also leave the next day. He summoned Crutchley and Vandegrift (commander of the troops on Guadalcanal) to an evening conference on his flagship. Crutchley took Australia to the amphibious anchorage, leaving five cruisers and six destroyers on guard to the west. That night a powerful Japanese cruiser force attacked. They caught Task Group 62.2 by surprise, and sank four Allied cruisers, including . In the wake of the disaster, Crutchley was heavily criticised, both for leaving his command, and for an ineffective deployment which allowed the Japanese to get close without being detected by radar. Crutchley nonetheless retained the confidence of his superiors. He remained with the RAN in the South West Pacific, commanding TF 44 (redesignated TF 74 in 1943) for another 23 months. His command of the Australian Squadron ended on 13 June 1944. In September 1944, Crutchley received the American Legion of Merit in the degree of Chief Commander. Later years Crutchley's final command was Flag Officer Gibraltar after the war (14 January 1945 - January 1947). He retired in 1947, and was promoted to admiral in 1949. Crutchley enjoyed a long retirement at Mappercombe Manor, near Bridport in Dorset. In 1955, he was appointed High Sheriff of Dorset and in 1957, Deputy Lieutenant for Dorset. When he died in 1986 at the age of 92, he was one of the last surviving admirals from World War II. In 1945, Crutchley had bought two paintings (Capriccio: The Lagoon, Venice and La Torre di Marghera) by the landscape artist Bernardo Bellotto. They were given to the nation in lieu of tax and presented to the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery in 1988. Notes References Further reading Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999) The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997) VCs of the First World War - The Naval VCs (Stephen Snelling, 2002) External links Location of grave and VC medal (Dorset) Royal Navy admirals of World War II British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Deputy Lieutenants of Dorset Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Chief Commanders of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta People from Chelsea, London Schuyler family English people of Dutch descent 1893 births 1986 deaths Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy officers