WW1 & IRAQ KURDISTAN MEDAL GROUP LIEUTENANT G.H. CROSSE MACHINE GUN CORPS, LATE YORKSHIRE REGIMENT

Description

WW1 British Army medal group attributed to Lieutenant G.H. Crosse, of the Machine Gun Corps & Yorkshire Regiment, who served post war in Kurdistan & Iraq & in the South African Army during WW2.

British War and Victory Medals; General Service Medal (1918-1962), with 2 clasps KURDISTAN & IRAQ, being impressed named, LIEUT G.H.CROSSE.

Medals court mounted for display and come with copies M.I.C., medal rolls, 1911 census, hospital admission record 1916, London Gazette, Army Lists, passenger list & school magazine ‘The ANTUARIAN’.

George Hallewell Crosse was born in Kent, England on the 23/2/1896. He was the son of the Reverend T. G. Crosse, Vicar of Faversham, Kent. He attended The Kings School, Canterbury January 1910; 6th Form, September 1913; Monitor, Sept., 1914; 1st XV., 1913-14- 15; 1st IV., 1914; sports colours, 1914 gaining a number of academic and sports distinctions.

Admitted to Royal Military College, Sandhurst by examination & gazetted as a temporary 2nd Lieutenant 23/10/1914. Landed France 25/4/1916 with Princess of Wales Own (Yorkshire Regiment).

From the school magazine, it states that ‘G. H. Crosse has been undergoing a 16 days’ machine-gun course at Strensall, York. As he expressively puts it “we work all day long and write notes all night long.” He expects to be appointed as instructor in this course for about two months, and then to go to France. His two brothers, T. L. and R. G. Crosse are already at the front. We arrived out here on April 23rd and came straight up here. It is great sport being in these Bde. Machine Gun Coys. I am second in command and so I stay behind at Headquarters and work out strafes for the Hun to be done at a safe distance. About three or four times a week I go all round the trenches and work out the best scheme of defence’.

He was serving with the Yorkshire Regiment, when he was awarded his G.S.M. and was still serving with them in 1922 (Army List).

In August 1923, he emigrated to South Africa. The school magazine shows his WW2 service: WAR RECORD No. 14- MARCH, 1944 G.H, CROSSE to Captain, Tank Training Corps, S.A.F. G. H. Crosse (1910- 14) is now O.C. of a Gunnery School in South Africa. Died 27/11/1949, Scottburgh KwaZulu-Natal South Africa.

Of the 4 Crosse brothers who served during WW1, George was wounded in Action 21/9/1916, whilst serving with the M.G.C., gunshot wound to right foot, two were killed (Thomas Latymer Crosse K.I.A. 3/7/1917 & Robert Grant Crosse D.O.W. 14/7/1916), the fourth brother, Brigadier Edward Neufville Crosse, finished the war as Acting Captain M.C. and bar, M.I.D. He served as Commander, Corps Royal Artillery, 21st Army Group from 14/3/1945 to 21/6/1945, appointed C.B.E. 29/3/1945, K.C. Order of Orange Nassau with Swords of the Netherlands 23 May 1947 & Aide-de-Camp to the King, 3/11/1948.