Norman Leonard Crouch (abt. 1917 - 1941)

Born about 1917 in New Forest, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom

Died 4 Jan 1941 at about age 24 in Romney Marsh, Kent, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Norman Leonard Crouch was born about June 1917 in the New Forest. He passed away in 1941at Romney Marsh, Kent, England. Norman Leonard Crouch was the son of Edgar James Crouch and Ethel Beatrice (née Parker) Crouch, of East Boldre. His father, Edgar, was born in 1886 in Christchurch and worked as a carter, a labourer and a seaman. The family lived in Little Purcell Cottage in Beaulieu, Hampshire, England.

Military Service

Service Number 5572752 Date of Birth: Abt. June 1917, New Forest, Hampshire. Date of Death: 4 January 1941 Age at death: 23

Norman enlisted the 4th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment before the war and served 132 (Kent and Surrey) TA Brigade. On the outbreak of war, Norman's brigade was sent to Belgium as part of the ill fated British Expeditionary Force which was forced to retreat to Dunkirk for evacuation. After returning to England, the Battalion was assigned to the coastal defence of New Romney in Kent. He was stationed in a sandbagged post in The Old Lifeboat House in Littlestone. Unfortunately, this had been undermined by the sea and, on 4th January 1941, the building collapsed and Norman died of traumatic asphyxiation.

Sources

• https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=FDayw%2FuqZWtiT8IWnwGS8Q&scan=1
• http://www.eastboldre.org/wargraves.html#NLCrouch
• https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2691242/crouch,-norman-leonard/
• http://www.eastboldre.org/hallmemorial.html#NormanLeonardCrouch