According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 122 UK servicemen died one hundred years ago today on the 23rd November 1914. Henry Crouch was one such casualty, dying of wounds on this day.
Henry was born in Peesmarsh, Rye, East Sussex and enlisted with the East Lancashire Regiment at Canterbury in December 1908. Oddly, I can find no reference to his 1914 Star. His medal index card shows entitlement to the British War and Victory Medal but of course, he would have been entitled to the 1914 Star (and clasp) and probably arrived overseas with the battalion on the 7th November 1914.
The battalion had been in South Africa when war was declared and had only arrived back in England at the end of October. The war diary makes no mention of significant action in November and so Henry was possibly fatally wounded either during a relief, during one of those sporadic and desultory bombardments of British lines, or as a result of sniping; it's impossible to say.
Henry is buried in Estaires Communal Cemetery and Extension along with a number of other regular soldiers who were killed in action or died of wounds in November and December 1914.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
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