1885 - 1916
CPL David Wallace Crawford
1887 - 1916
Lce-Corpl John Joseph Nickle
1894 - 1916
Pte 17911 Morton Neill
1897 - 1916
Lieut Edward Stanley Ashcroft
1883 - 1918
2nd Lieut Harry Crook
- Age: 44
- From: Sheffield Yorkshire
- Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 17th Btn
- D.O.W Saturday 20th April 1918
- Commemorated at: Tyne Cot Memorial
Panel Ref: Panel 31-34
There is no birth record for a Harry Crook in Sheffield in about 1873. The only possible birth is Henry Crook, son of Amos Crook and Elizabeth (nee Groom), who married in Holbeach in 1858. He was one of at least 10 children, with older siblings Ann, Elizabeth, William, Amos, Robert, and Jem (who died young), and younger siblings Frank, Stanley (died young), and Blanche.
At the time of the 1881 census 8-year old Harry is living in Alderson Road, Sheffield, with his parents and five siblings. His father is a cab driver.
When Harry was 10 or 11 years old, in 1884, his mother died at the age of 46.
The 1891 Census finds him living with his married brother Amos. Harry is 18, employed as an engineer/tool fitter. His
father, 52, a cab driver/groom, and the two youngest children, Frank and Blanche, live with married daughter Annie.
On 11 November 1895 he attested, at Burnley, joining the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards with the service number 5555. He gave his age as 22 years and 2 months and his occupation is shown as a barman. He is described as being 5 foot 10 inches tall, weighing 154 pound with a 38 inch chest being of fresh complexion with grey eyes and brown hair. He stated his religion as Roman Catholic.
He served at home from his enlistment until 15th July, 1898. He was posted to Egypt from 16th July, 1898 until 05th October 1898 as part of the Nile Expedition. He was awarded the Queen’s Sudan Medal and the Khedive’s Sudan Medal with a clasp for Khartoum. He returned to service in the UK from 06th October 1898 until he was posted to Gibraltar from 23 September 1899. He then moved to South Africa and served there from 26th October 1899 until 06th October 1902. He served in the Boer War and was awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal with five clasps: Belmont, Modder River, Diamond Hill, Belfast and Orange Free State. He was awarded the King’s South Africa Medal with two Clasps, South Africa 01 and South Africa 02.
His father died in 1898 aged 59.
He returned home on 07th October, 1902, and shortly after this return he married Alice Kate Fifield on 01st November 1902 at the Registry Office in Kensington, London. He was transferred to 1st Class A Reserve on 11 November 1902. His final discharge from the reserve was on 10 November 1907, having completed twelve years. His wife, Alice Kate Fifield was born in Chichester, Sussex in 1878. Their son Albert Crook was baptised on 03rd February 1904 at Holy Trinity Church, Batley Carr, Dewsbury. A daughter Ethel Crook was baptised on 30 August 1905 also at Holy Trinity Church Harry is described as a Police Constable, the family living at 5 David Lane. His daughter Ethel sadly died in 1907.
On 28th October 1908 Harry had a child with Florence Ann Wisher. Edith Crook was baptised on 11th November, 1908 at St Leonards C of E Church, Bootle. Th address given is Rimrose Road, Bootle and Harry is shown as a head barman. The mother is recorded as Florence Crook whose previous name is given on the birth certificate as Wisher. This is Florence Ann Wisher born in Dewsbury on 04th November, 1885. She was not married to Harry.
The 1911 Census shows Harry as born in Sheffield and employed as a hotel manager of 78 Wellington Road (The Railway Inn) in Wavertree. Also recorded is his "wife", Florence, who is aged 26 and assists in the business, was born in Dewsbury. The Census records that they have been married for four years. Also present is their daughter Edith born in Liverpool, and a nurse Hannah Bridges, born Liverpool, aged 13 years.
His legal wife, listed as Kati Crook, 33, born in Chichester, occupation housekeeper, is found at 14 Rutland Street, St. Pancras, London. The address appears to be some kind of lodging house. She states she is a widow and has had two children, one of whom has died.
His son Albert has not been found on the 1911 census. It appears he married in Tower Hamlets in London in 1928, giving his father as Harry Crook, policeman, deceased.
Harry enlisted as a Private in the Army Service Corps in January 1915, he arrived in France on 30th July 1915. He rose to Staff Sergeant Major, receiving a commission in the King's (Liverpool) Regiment two years later. He served as Henry Crook according to his Medal Index Card and was a Second Lieutenant serving in the 17th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment. It is probable that he was transferred from the 20th Battalion, when the latter was disbanded in February 1918. This probability is strengthened by the fact that he appears in the War Diary of the 20th Battalion on 12th January 1918 when he was appointed Orderly Officer for the Battalion’s march from Gentelles, to Boyonvillers.
He is first mentioned in the 17th Battalion War Diary on 19th April 1918, when the Battalion was in the line south east of St Jan’s Chappel, near Ypres, Belgium. The diary reports:
'Patrolling was vigorous - 2Lt R Gill MC MM proceeded on patrol with 5 other ranks and enemy party was met, shots were exchanged and Second Lt Gill was hit in the head and fell into a ditch, the remainder of the party returned at 4.10 am to our lines. A further party of 8 Other Ranks led by 2nd Lieut Crook was fired upon from a distance of 10 yards and 2nd Lieut Crook was badly wounded also one other rank - efforts to save them proved futile owing to intensity of enemy fire".
Harry was initially declared Missing on. 20th April 1918. Florence made enquiries, as Mrs H Crook of 69 Goswell Street, Liverpool, with the International Red Cross, but was informed in a reply dated 06th July 1918 that they held no information on Harry. Another enquiry was made on 02nd August 1918 with British authorities.
Harry's body was either not recovered from the battlefield or was subsequently lost and he is commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium. The Memorial register contains no personal details.
Those United Kingdom and New Zealand servicemen who died after August 16th 1917 are named on the Tyne Cot Memorial, a site which marks the furthest point reached by Commonwealth forces in Belgium until nearly the end of the war.
The Tyne Cot Memorial now bears the names of almost 35,000 officers and men whose graves are not known. The memorial, designed by Sir Herbert Baker with sculpture by Joseph Armitage and F.V. Blundstone, was unveiled by Sir Gilbert Dyett on 20 June 1927.
The memorial forms the north-eastern boundary of Tyne Cot Cemetery, which was established around a captured German blockhouse or pill-box used as an advanced dressing station.
Florence received a widow’s pension of £100 a year, later increased to £142. However, she was only entitled to 12/- a week as an unmarried mother until the child reached 17, which would be on 28th October 1925. The fraud was discovered in May 1925 and a report of the Court case of Florence Ann Wisher, the mother of his child born in 1908, sheds light on a problem Army Pensions that the authorities had to come to address under the headline:PROBLEM OF THE FUTURE
"The woman was Florence Ann Wisher (39) of Goswell Street, Wavertree and she pleaded guilty to charges of obtaining various sums from the Ministry of Pensions by false pretences.
Mr. D.P. Oliver, prosecuting said that the false pretence was that Wisher passed herself off as the wife of Second-Lieut Harry Crook, who was reported missing in France in April 1918 and whose death was afterwards presumed by the War Office.
The woman applied for a pension declaring herself to be the widow of the dead officer, whereas whe was actually a spinster, although she had lived with Second- Lieut Crook as his wife and had passed under the name of Mrs Crook.
Harry Crook, who was the licensee of a public- house in Wellington road, Wavertree, he added, enlisted as a private in the Army Service Corps in January 1915 receiving a commission in the King's (Liverpool) Regiment two years later. On his enlistment form Crook gave as his next of kin his wife , Alice Kate Crook, whose maiden name was Firfield and her address as that where the Defendant was living.
Crook was legally married to Firfield at the Register Office, Kensington, London in October 1902 but the couple apparantly separated many years ago and had not seen each other since.
Wisher had obtained the pension by taking the name of the lawful wife. In spite of exhaustive investigations, it was not known whether the wife was now alive. Wisher filled in the application forms as "Alice Kate Crook" and stated that she married Crook at the Kensington Register Office in 1902. In confirmation of this, the certificate of marriage was forwarded".
The report does not contain the outcome of the Court case.
Harry's name is also recorded in the Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-18 book.
We currently have no further information on Harry Crook, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.
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