Crichton, Henry William
Regiment: Royal Horse Guards
Rank: Captain
Service No:
Boer War service: 29 Nov 1899 to 28 Nov 1900
Date of enlistment: 5 May 1894
Date of discharge: 31 Oct 1914
Reason for discharge: Killed in action in WW1
Other information: Distinguished Service Order [London Gazette, 19 April, 1901]: “Henry William, Viscount Crichton, Captain, Royal Horse Guards. In recognition of services during the operations in South Africa”. Mentioned in Dispatches (London Gazette 8 February 1901): “Captain Viscount Crichton, Royal Horse Guards, ADC, has a good head on his shoulders, and thoroughly knows his work.”
Viscount Crichton served in WW1 – further information can be found on our Great War site
Born: 30 September 1872 in Lisknaskea, County Fermanagh, Ireland.
Family: He was the eldest son of John Henry Crichton, 4th Earl of Erne and Florence Mary Crichton, Viscountess of Crom Castle, Ireland. He married Mary Cavendish Grosvenor in 1903 in Westminster, London and together they had three children – George David Hugh (who died 6 days old), John Henry George and Mary Kathleen.
Residence: In 1881 he was living with his uncle and aunt in East Bilney, Mitford, Norfolk. At the time of the 1901 census he was on the Royal Yacht Ophir in the Suez Canal, on route to Australia and the Colonies with HRH George, Duke of Cornwall and York (who would become King George V) and the Royal Party.
Employment: Member of the aristocracy and career soldier
Death: 31 October 1914, killed in action in WW1 and buried in the Zandvoorte British Cemetery, Belgium. He is commemorated on the Burleydam, Cheshire memorial.
Other information: His wife was living at Combermere Abbey, Burleydam with her mother, Katherine Dowager Duchess of Westminster, whilst she waited for news of the fate of her husband. Her brother Lord Hugh William Grosvenor was also killed in action around the same time.