221082 Pte. Arthur Crookes British Army 6th Batallion 13th Platoon York & Lancaster Regiment from:Sheffield (d. ) My father Arthur Crookes did not talk about his war time experiences when I was a child growing up in England. However, when I was newly married in 1965 he came to visit me and my new wife in Vancouver, British Columbia. He knew his days were numbered because of cancer. He did leave with us his service medals and some personal items that he had saved from his combat service time in WW1.
These items sparked my interest to try to find out what the soldier went through during those years. I now know what battles he was involved in and find it amazing that he was one of the fortunate survivors.
The only stories he did recount was of his time in Egypt and how when they cooked a meal in camp nobody dare move a foot or the sand would blow all over the bully rations. Also his story of using jam jar labels in Persia to procure trinkets or food from the locals who thought it was money. He also was very paranoid of anything like insects, pests and skin diseases after his experience in trench warfare. He was always a soldier and purported himself accordingly.
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