Ettrick William Creak was born in 1835. He joined the Royal Navy, advancing from navigating lieutenant to commander and captain, and served as superintendent of compasses for the Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty. He died in 1920.
Published work 'Terrestrial magnetism, magnetical instructions for the Antarctic expedition, 1901' by E. W. Creak in, The Antarctic manual for the use of the expedition of 1901 with a foreword by Sir Clements Markham, edited by George Murray, Royal Geographical Society, London (1901) SPRI Library Shelf (7)
From the guide to the Ettrick Creak collection, 1904, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)