Part 52

=COX, ERNEST WILKIN=, Private, No. 12/710, 16th Infantry Battn. New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 5th _s._ of Edmund Blatchford Cox, of Roto-o-Rangi, Cambridge, Auckland, New Zealand, by his wife, David Ann, dau. of Robert Wilkin, of Christchurch, New Zealand; _b._ Hamilton, Waikato, Auckland, 11 April, 1893; educ. Waikato; was employed on his father’s property; volunteered and joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; left for Egypt with the Main Body in Oct.; embarked for the Dardanelles, 12 April, 1915, and was killed in the landing at Gaba Tepe on the 25th of that month; _unm._ He was a great athlete, with a strong inclination for engineering.

=COX, FRANCIS THOMAS=, Ch. E.R.A., 1st Class, 268129, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=COX, FRANCIS WILLIAM=, A.B. (R.F.R., I.C. 668), 195409, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=COX, HARRY=, Seaman, R.N.R., 4978B, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=COX, HORACE RAYMOND=, Private, No. 1125, 10th Battn. Australian Imperial Force; 3rd _s._ of William Cox, Butcher, by his wife, Ada Cox (26, Brock Street, Kirkdale, Liverpool), dau. of Henry Boden; _b._ Kirkdale, Liverpool, 12 May, 1893; educ. Westminster Road Schools, and Training Ship Indefatigable; was for sometime in the employ of the White Star Line, and emigrated to Australia in August, 1910. He joined the Commonwealth Expeditionary Force on the outbreak of war; was wounded in the landing at the Dardanelles, 25 April, 1915, and died in Hospital at Cairo, 8 May following; _unm._

=COX, HUBERT POMEROY=, Rifleman, No. 2089, 1/16th (Queen’s Westminster Rifles) Battn. The London Regt. (T.F.), 3rd and yst. _s._ of the late Henry Cox, Permanent Way Inspector, Great Western Railway, by his wife, Kate (158, Darnley Road, Gravesend, Kent), dau. of the late Henry Courteen, of Redbrook, co. Monmouth; _b._ Weston-super-Mare, co. Somerset, 5 March, 1891; educ. Watford. He enlisted in the Queen’s Westminster Rifles on the day war was declared, went out to France with his regt. 3 Nov. 1914, and passed through all the critical fighting of Nov. and Dec., until he was killed in action by a shell at Chapelle d’Armentières Town Hall, 19 Dec. 1914. He was buried in the military cemetery, Armentières; _unm._ The following is an extract from a letter from the officer commanding his platoon: “He had done so well in the company since he joined and proved himself a hard worker and a good soldier.” And his Sergt. wrote, describing his death: “The battn. had come out of the trenches, and A Coy. were in their billet (Town Hall) when the shell burst. We were all so sorry about it for he was very much loved by all his comrades.” He was a man of splendid physique, taking an active part in all athletic games. At the school sports during his last term he carried off no fewer than 13 prizes and medals.

=COX, RICHARD ARTHUR=, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9957), S.S. 2497, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=COX, SWITHIN JOHN=, Third Writer, 347960, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.

=COX, SYDNEY DOUGLAS=, Private, No. 2130, 6th Battn. Australian Imperial Force, yst. _s._ of Harry Cox, of 20, Manners Road, Ilkeston, Derby, formerly of Aldershot and Andover, retired Printer and Stationer, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of Joseph Stephenson, of Burley Road, Leeds; _b._ Stratford-on-Avon, co. Warwick, 7 Aug. 1891; educ. Broomy Hill Academy, Hereford; relinquished a lucrative position on the Midland Railway and went to Australia to take up farming in May, 1910, commencing as a farm hand at Stratford, Gippsland, and after three years being placed in charge of the farm. When the call of the Motherland was heard “down under,” he instantly responded, was enrolled in the 2nd, but was afterwards transferred to the 1st, Australian Contingent, took part in the repulse of the Turkish attack on the Suez Canal, and was killed in action at the Dardanelles, 8 May, 1915; _unm._ He was a good linguist, being able to speak two or three languages fluently.

=COX, THOMAS=, L.-Corpl., No. 11359, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, _s._ of Charles William Cox, of 3, Folkestone Road, Swindon, Foreman, Swindon Suridge Works, late Private, Grenadier Guards, by his wife, Eliza, dau. of Thomas Jenings, of Ossett, Essex; _b._ Swindon, co. Wilts, 29 Oct. 1894; educ. King William Street Church School there; enlisted in the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battn. of the Wiltshire Regt., 9 May, 1910, and passed into the 2nd Battn. 21 Oct. 1910, obtaining his discharge, 30 Jan. 1911. He was then employed in the Great Western Railway Works at Swindon until the outbreak of war, when he enlisted in the Coldstreams, 29 Aug. 1914. He was wounded in action at Givenchy, 23 Dec. 1914, and died in hospital at Wimereux on 29 Dec. 1914; _unm._

=COX, WALTER=, Private, No. 6964, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards, _s._ of William Cox, by his wife, Maria (Alveston, Stratford-on-Avon), dau. of (--); _b._ Alveston, co. Warwick, 15 Oct. 1885; educ. Tiddington, near Stratford-on-Avon; enlisted at Birmingham, and was officially reported as wounded and missing after the fighting at Landrecies, 23 Aug. 1914, and is now assumed to have been killed in action on that day.

=COX, WILLIAM GEORGE=, Ship’s Cook, 347466, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=COXHEAD, GUY TEMPLETON=, Gunner, R.M.A., 7834 (R.F.R., 767), H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=COYLE, JAMES=, Stoker, R.N.R., 1970S, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=COYNE, JAMES=, Stoker, 2nd Class, K. 19994, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=WALLACE-CRABBE, KEITH GEORGE=, Capt., 14th Battn. Australian Expeditionary Force, 4th _s._ of George Wallace-Crabbe, of Gordon, Byrom Street, St. Kilda, Australia, Legal Manager, by his wife, Theresa, dau. of Francis Frederick Cluny, H.M.C., Adelaide, and step-brother of Douglas Wallace-Crabbe, of 34, Buller Road, Longsight, Manchester; _b._ Melbourne, 28 July, 1894; educ. Trinity Grammar School, Kew, Victoria, and held a good position in a large business firm. He had joined the 46th (Brighton Rifles) Regt. Australian T.F., some time prior to the war, and on the outbreak of war was a Captain and at once volunteered for Imperial service. He stood 6 feet 2 inches, and was given a commission as Lieut. of the 14th Battn. Australian Imperial Force, left Australia with the second reinforcements, and after some time in Egypt was sent with his battn. to the Dardanelles, where he took part in the landing on 25 April, and was almost continuously in action for six months. He was the officer in command when Corpl. Jacka won his Victoria Cross at Quinn’s Post, and throughout every action that followed showed conspicuous bravery. Writing to his father from Gallipoli on 20 May, he gave the following account of the incident: “We have just passed through two very strenuous days and nights here. The Turks were heavily reinforced, and made an attack on our position, and we inflicted terrible loss on the attackers. One little incident during the attack may interest you. The Turks, eight in number, got into a small section of our trench, and as I was near we had to clear them out. Lieut. Boyle was wounded, and Lieut. Hamilton killed in tackling the same job, before I came on the scene. I got four boys, who made a rush at them, but were repulsed with two wounded. Then I made as if we were going to attack again, and threw some grenades at them, and the L.-Corpl. whom I have written the memorandum about rushed in at the other end and fired ten shots. The copy enclosed is what I have written to get Jacka a medal for conduct. The General was greatly pleased with the way the attack was repulsed right along, and Major Rankine, who was in command of our trench, got great praise. All of us were personally congratulated by General Godley, Brigadier Monash and Col. Courtney. This is an extract from my report to headquarters: ‘I beg to report that at 5 a.m. on 19 May L.-Corpl. Jacka, No. 4 Coy., 14th Battn. Australian Imperial Force, under my instructions, rushed in at one end of the trenches whilst I had a party engaging them at the other end, and shot seven Turks who had forced and obtained a section of our trenches. L.-Corpl. Jacka and a party of four had tried a previous bayonet rush, but were repulsed with two casualties to us.’” Capt. Crabbe was mainly responsible for the ascendancy which the 4th Brigade established on the enemy in bomb fighting. He was killed while leading a desperate charge at Hill 60 at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, 24 Aug. 1915; _unm._ “Men who saw this gallant officer lying dead,” wrote Sergt. Jacka, “say that he died with a sweet smile on his face. ‘Killed in action’ was, perhaps, all that you were told, but what death is there as noble as this, when you meet it while leading your men in the thick of battle and fighting for your King and country against such odds? The attack was made by 100 men from the 14th Battn., 100 from the 13th and 50 from the 16th. Lieut. Crabbe had been promoted to Capt. just previous to this, and being such a brave, cool officer he had charge of the men. It was in this ill-fated charge that he met his death. It was a desperate attack, and while leading his men, a smoking revolver in his hand, he fell, shot through the head. His sad and untimely death is greatly mourned by us. He was a great favourite with all the men who knew him, and had made a name for himself as a gallant leader, and had he lived through this engagement a very high honour would have been conferred upon him.” He wrote a treatise on platoon drill, and invented a new system of throwing hand grenades, and dealing with enemy grenades.

=CRABTREE, WILLIAM=, 2nd Lieut., 8th (Service) Battn. Lincolnshire Regt., only _s._ of the late William Henry Robinson Crabtree, Civil Engineer, by his wife, Helen (39, Thome Road, Doncaster), dau. of John William Blagbrough, of Manchester; _b._ Doncaster, 20 May, 1895; educ. North Eastern County School, Barnard Castle, and afterwards started his training at the Brodsworth Colliery, with the view to becoming a mining engineer. On the outbreak of war he applied for a commission, and meantime joined as a private in the Public School camp, then stationed at Epsom, where he stayed only a few days, when he was gazetted to the 8th Battn. Lincolnshire Regt., 22 Sept. 1914. He was killed in a taxi-cab accident while training, 10 Feb. 1915; _unm._

=CRACKNELL, FREDERICK=, Gunner, 7885, R.M.A., H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=CRADOCK, SIR CHRISTOPHER GEORGE FRANCIS MAURICE=, K.C.V.O., C.B., Rear-Admiral, A.D.C. to His Majesty the King, 4th _s._ of the late Christopher Cradock, of Hartforth, co. York, by his wife, Georgina, dau. of Major Gordon Duff, 92nd Highlanders; _b._ Hartforth, Richmond, co. York, 2 July, 1862; educ. Richmond Grammar School, and Amyat Burney’s, Gosport; entered the Royal Navy 15 Jan. 1875; became Sub-Lieut. 21 Dec. 1881; Lieut. 30 June, 1885; Commander, 31 Aug. 1896; Capt., 18 April, 1901, and Rear-Admiral, 24 Aug. 1910; served during British occupation of Cyprus, 1878; present as Midshipman H.M.S. Pallas at hoisting by that ship of the Union Jack at Paphos and Limasol, 1878; in Upper Egypt, 1884; landed as Sub.-Lieut. with Naval Brigade for garrison duties; and with the Eastern Sudan Field Force as A.D.C. to the Governor-General of the Red Sea; present at the Battle of Tokar, 19 Feb. 1891, and subsequent occupation of Affafit (mentioned in Despatches; medal with Tokar clasps; Khedive’s Bronze Star; 4th Medjidie); was First Lieut. H.M.S. Dolphin on the occasion of the rescue by that ship of the officers and crew of the Brazilian corvette Almirante Barroza, which was totally wrecked off Ras Dib, 1892; Lieut. in Royal Yacht, 1894–6; when Commander H.M.S. Alacrity, commanded the Allied landing party at the storming and capture of the Taku forts, 17 July, 1900, and subsequently commanded the British Naval Brigade, and directed the British, American, Italian, and Japanese forces, on the advance to, and relief of, Tientsin, and in the relief of Sir Edward Seymour’s column at Siku (noted for promotion for gallantry; medal with Taku clasp); present with Naval Brigade at the capture of the Peiyang Arsenal, Tientsin, 27 June, 1900 (Relief of Pekin Clasp; 2nd Class Order of the Crown of Prussia with swords); created C.B., 26 June, 1902, and M.V.O. (4th Class), 21 April, 1903, on the occasion of the visit of King Edward VII to Malta; decorated with the Royal Spanish Order of Naval Merit, 1906; awarded Testimonial of the Royal Humane Society for jumping overboard at night in Palmas Bay, Sardinia, 1904, and saving the life of a drowning midshipman; was Flag Capt. to Admiral Sir Baldwin Walker, commanding the cruisers which found and shadowed the Russian Fleet after the Dogger Bank Incident; Naval A.D.C. to His Majesty King Edward VII, 9 Feb. 1909 to 24 Aug. 1910; Rear-Admiral of the Atlantic Fleet (3rd Battle Squadron) Aug. 1911, to Aug. 1912; was at Gibraltar when the P. & O. s.s. Delhi, with the Duke and Duchess of Fife and their daughters on board, stranded off Cape Spartel, on the night of 12 Dec. 1911; received the appreciation of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty for “courage and energy displayed” on this occasion, and was created a K.C.V.O. (28 Feb. 1912), and awarded the Silver Medal of the Board of Trade for saving life; Commanding Training Squadron, 1912, to 8 Feb. 1913; appointed Rear-Admiral and Senior Naval Officer, West Atlantic (4th Cruiser Squadron), 8 Feb. 1913; hoisted his flag on H.M.S. Good Hope (Armoured cruiser) after the outbreak of war, and was lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914. The Official report states “During Sunday, 1 Nov. the Good Hope, Monmouth, and Glasgow came up with the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Leipzig, and Dresden. Both squadrons were steaming south in a strong wind and considerable sea. The German squadron declined action until sunset, when the light gave it an important advantage. The action lasted an hour. Early in the action both the Good Hope and the Monmouth took fire, but fought on until nearly dark, when a serious explosion occurred on the Good Hope, and she foundered.... The action appears to the Admiralty to have been most gallantly contested, but in the absence of the Canopus the enemy’s preponderance of force was considerable.” A Public Memorial was put up in York Minster: another at Dungavel Private Chapel by the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton; a window at Gilling Church by Countess Fitzwilliam, and a tablet at Gilling Church by the Family. He was author of “Sporting Notes in the Far East,” “Wrinkles in Seamanship or a help to Salt Horse,” “Whispers from the Fleet,” etc., etc. He was _unm._

=CRAGG, GEOFFREY ETHELBERT=, Solicitor, Sergt., No. 1745, 5th Battn. Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regt. (T.F.), _s._ of the late Anthony Richard Cragg. Estate Agent to Sir Jeremiah Colman, Gatton Park, of Warleigh, Eversfield Road, Reigate, Surrey, and Author of “Hints to Young Valuers” and many other works, by his wife, Alice Louise, dau. of the late Norcliffe William Glendinning, of Ambleside; _b._ Hereford, 25 Feb. 1888; educ. Hoe Preparatory School and Reigate Grammar School; served his articles with Morrison and Nightingale, of Reigate and Redhill, and was admitted a solicitor in July, 1910. He was appointed Deputy Coroner for East Surrey in 1912, and was probably the youngest Deputy Coroner in the country. He had joined the Royal West Surrey Territorials in 1912, and when war broke out was in training with his regiment on Salisbury Plain. He immediately signed on for the period of the war, and was sent to India with his regt. Cragg was one of those who volunteered for service in the Persian Gulf, when, in Aug. 1915, a call was made for a further draft of men from the 5th Queen’s to join the 2nd Norfolks, then in Mesopotamia, and his keenness is shown by the fact that he was willing to revert to the rank of Corpl. in order to go. He took part in the action on 27–28 Sept., and died of dysentery, at Kut-el-Amara, 17 Oct. 1915; _unm._ Col. Brodrick wrote to Mrs. Cragg: “Your son was a splendid fellow. His devotion to duty at all times was wonderful. We shall miss him terribly, but he died, as he would have wished, doing his duty, and the regt. is proud of him.”

=CRAMPTON, CHARLES THEODORE=, Stoker, P.O. 294717, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; _m._

=CRANE, CHARLES EDWARD=, 2nd Lieut., 1st Battn. Duke of Cornwall’s L.I., eldest _s._ of Charles Arnold Crane, of The Reddings, Cheltenham, by his wife, Georgina, dau. of the Rev. Thomas Walker, Rector of Abbots Morton, Worcestershire; _b._ Birlingham, co. Worcester, 18 Feb. 1892; educ. Oakfield, Rugby, Cheltenham College, and Sandhurst; gazetted to the 1st Battn. Duke of Cornwall’s L.I. 4 Sept. 1912, and served with his regt. in Ireland in the spring of 1914 in connection with the troublous time in Belfast. On the outbreak of war he went with his regt. to the Front, was wounded in the Battle of the Aisne, 14 Sept. 1914, and died from wounds, at Mont de Soissons Farm, four days later, being buried near Mont de Soissons, between the village of Nampteuil-sous-Muret and Serches, 7 miles from Soissons, and 1 mile from Serches, overlooking the Valley of the Aisne; _unm._ His commanding officer, Lieut.-Col. M. N. Turner, in writing to his father, paid a high tribute to his worth and courage: “Your boy was absolutely brave and good. We were all so very fond of him, and he was such an excellent officer. He was absolutely fearless, and one of the best.” An officer wrote: “He was hit on 14 Sept, when doing real good, brave work. He did his work before he was hit, and it took a bit of doing. Another good soldier and leader, and another gallant officer! We miss him very much; we all liked him so tremendously.” Sergt. Blaclock declared that “He was always to the front in the call of duty, and the men who have had the honour to serve with him at home or on the battlefield will, I am sure, always feel proud of him, and he will always be remembered as one of the bravest and best.” And L.-Corpl. J. Horan, 1st Duke of Cornwall’s L.I., wrote: “I had the pleasure of serving with your gallant son. All through the famous retreat from Mons it will always live in my memory his kindness to me; that was when we started the advance. He picked me up where I was lying by the road one night and put me in an ambulance wagon, and also another Private; we both owe our lives to him. He was most kind and considerate in all his orders, and would never ask his men to go to any place he would not go himself. We had trying times, especially on 26 Aug., when he took us out of the village Le Chateau. I don’t remember him losing any of his platoons. It was a dreadful ordeal, for they were firing upon us in all directions. His conduct was brilliant in the extreme; it was his coolness that got us out of it. I cannot express his kindness, for on the retreat I have seen him carrying the men’s rifles. He would give us chocolates and cigarettes, or whatever he had he would give to any one. I cannot speak too highly of him.” Numerous other letters refer to him in like terms of admiration and respect.

=CRASCALL, COULSON HENRY=, A. B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 2577), 177293, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=CRAVEN, EDWARD=, Stoker. 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 7125), S.S. 101858, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=CRAVEN, THOMAS=, Deckhand, R.N.R., 1386 D.A., Royal Naval Reserve; _b._ Cleckheaton, co. York, 26 Feb. 1872; educ. Church Schools, Liversedge, co. York; was in the employ of Messrs. Hillyer, of Hull; joined the Royal Naval Reserve at the outbreak of war, and was drowned in the North Sea by falling overboard during a gale, while surveying on H.M. armed trawler Viola in the North Sea, 7 Nov. 1914. He was buried with naval honours at Lerwick; _unm._

=CRAVEN, THOMAS=, Stoker, P.O. (R.F.R., A. 1917/), 154699, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=CRAWFORD, ALEXANDER PRATT=, Private, No. 7049, 1st Battn. Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, 2nd _s._ of Charles Crawford, of Leith, Wine and Spirit Merchant, by his wife, Agnes Lumsden (11, Annfield, Newhaven), dau. of the late Peter Seton, of Edinburgh; _b._ Leith, 17 Feb. 1887; educ. at Trinity Academy, Leith; enlisted 29 Sept. 1904, and was killed in action at the Aisne, 14 Sept. 1914; _unm._

=CRAWFORD, EDWARD=, Lieut., 3rd Battn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 7th surviving and yst. twin _s._ of the late Robert Crawford, of Stonewold, Ballyshannon, C.E., D.L., Professor of Engineering in Trinity College, Dublin, 1882–87, by his second wife, Anna, dau. of the late Thomas Troubridge Stubbs, of Ballyshannon; _b._ Stonewold, Ballyshannon, co. Donegal, 23 Nov. 1880; educ. Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, and Cheltenham College; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 4th (now the 3rd) Battn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 30 April, 1906, and promoted Lieut. 14 July, 1908. He went to the Front, Oct. 1914. and was attached to the 2nd Battn. Royal Irish Rifles in Flanders; he was invalided home in Dec. 1914, having contracted frostbite in the trenches. On recovery he again went to the Front, where he was attached to the 2nd Battn. Royal Irish Regt., and died at the British Hospital, Wimereux, France, 27 May, 1915, as the result of gas poisoning and wounds received while in action about 25 May. He was buried in the cemetery at Wimereux; _unm._

=CRAWFORD, HUGH=, A.B. (R.F.R. B., 10852), S.S. 2908, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; _m._