Current Information:

Born-Barnsbury

Messines Ridge British Cemetery, Belgium

At the beginning of 1915, 3rd Division were holding a section of the line south of Ypres and when not in the trenches the 4th Royal Fusiliers battalion of 9 Brigade, were in billets in Locre (Loker). On 1st February 1915 they returned to these trenches for a four day tour during which the battalion diary recorded that it was very wet but did not mention any casualties so it is not known how George Crook was killed on 3rd February. 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.