Current Information:

Age-24

14, Colls Road, Peckham

The 1st Royal Scots battalion were in India when the war began in August, 1914 but they were soon on their way home and in November reached Winchester where they became part of 81 Brigade, 27th Division. The following month the division crossed to France. On 20th January, 1915, 1st Royal Scots went into the trenches at Dickebusch and where they stayed until relieved on 22nd January. Arthur Crawley died on 22nd January but the battalion diary has no information about his death. The attrition rate among British soldiers on the Western Front was on average 300 each day and 60% of these were as a result of shellfire. When not involved in an actual battle it was either shell fire or a sniper’s bullet that caused most deaths and injuries.