Person    | Male  Born 2/11/1893  Died 24/1/1986

Victor Crutchley, VC

Categories: Armed Forces

War served, WW1 i

Commemorated on a memorial as having served in, and survived, WW1.

Sailor. Born Victor Alexander Charles Crutchley in Chelsea. His mother had been a maid of honour to Queen Victoria and he was her godson. He enlisted in the navy in 1906 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1915. He fought in the Battle of Jutland, and participated in the Zeebrugge Raid of April 1918. In the Second Ostend Raid on 9 May, he was posted to the cruiser Vindictive and took control when the commander was killed. When a propellor was damaged, preventing the vessel from fully closing the canal, he ordered its scuttling and personally oversaw the evacuation under fire. He transferred to the damaged motor launch ML 254 and oversaw bailing operations, standing in water up to his waist, until the destroyer HMS Warwick came to its aid. Although the second raid also failed to close the Bruges Canal to submarine traffic, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions. He was subsequently knighted and promoted to admiral.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Victor Crutchley, VC

Commemorated ati

Victor Crutchley VC

{Beneath a representation of the Victoria Cross medal:} Lieutenant Victor Cru...

Read More

Other Subjects

T. E. Lawrence

T. E. Lawrence

Intelligence officer and author. Born at Woodlands, Tremadoc, Caernarvonshire. He joined the archaeological team of Sir Flinders Petrie at Carchemish on the Euphrates, where he first met the Bedoui...

Person, Armed Forces, Literature, Seriously Famous, Middle East, Wales

1 memorial
E. Hawley

E. Hawley

J. Lyons & Co. Ltd. staff member who died in WW1.

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
West Hampstead Fire Station

West Hampstead Fire Station

The station itself is nearby, in West End Lane, close to West End Green.

Group, Armed Forces

1 memorial
64th Regiment

64th Regiment

Part of the force commanded by Havelock. Infantry.

Group, Armed Forces

1 memorial
Lance Corporal William Francis Spurstow Miller

Lance Corporal William Francis Spurstow Miller

William Francis Spurstow Miller was born in 1893 in Southsea, Hampshire, one of the four children of Admiral Francis Spurstow Miller CB (1863-1954) and Amy Knowles Miller née Ross (1870-1949). His ...

Person, Armed Forces, France, New Zealand

War dead, WW1
1 memorial

Previously viewed

Gwilym Jones

Gwilym Jones

A player at the London Welsh Rugby Football Club who was killed in WW1.

Person, Sport / Games

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
Frank Bruno

Frank Bruno

Boxer. Born London. Won the WBC Heavyweight championship in 1995.

Person, Seriously Famous, Sport / Games

1 memorial