Montague Crawley was born in Boxmoor, Hertfordshire on Monday, 6th February 1893 the ninth child of Daniel Crawley and Annie Birch. Daniel and Annie had a total of eleven children who were Annie Elizabeth, Alice Mary, Herbert William, Daniel, Florence Louisa, Percy Dean, Alfred, Lily, George, Montague and Harold. Lily died in infancy in 1889 and Alfred died in 1902 aged sixteen. Montague’s brother George fought and died in the Great War on the 1st July 1916 and his biography also appears on this site.The Crawley family lived on Cowper Road in Boxmoor for more than fifty years and when Montague was born his father was working at nearby Foster’s Sawmills on Kingsland Road.

The children all attended Boxmoor JMI School and Montague started his education in the Infants department in 1897 before moving into the main school in February 1900. A note in the Headmaster’s Log in 1903 records that along with three other pupils, Montague and his older brother George were “…working illegally…(employed by shop-keepers)…” despite the absences, the average attendance in the classroom during that particular week was an astounding “56.5”. Nevertheless, Montague did well at school and successfully completed four of the seven “Standards” by the time he left at the end of January 1906.

He went straight into Apsley Mills to work for John Dickinson & Co., Limited but he had changed employment by 1911 and had moved to Frogmore Mills where he worked for the British Paper Company. He was still working there on the outbreak of war and following the passing of the National Registration Act in July 1915, after which he had to register and give full employment details, he volunteered before being called. The Government had warned that voluntary enlistment would cease by 15th December 1915 so Montague travelled to Hertford where he attested on the 23rd October and joined the Hertfordshire Regiment. He was immediately posted to the 3rd/1st Battalion for basic training at Halton Camp, Wendover (now RAF Halton) and on the 5th July 1916 he was sent overseas.

He was posted first to the 1/1st Hertfordshire Regiment known as the “Hertfordshire Guards” but rather than being sent to his unit in the front lines he was transferred to No.3 Entrenching Battalion at the Base Depot in Boulogne. These Entrenching Battalions were formed to undertake work on rear defences near the front lines and were often used as a pool of reinforcements for conventional infantry battalions. Montague remained with this unit for almost a year when he was transferred to the 4th (T.F.) Royal Welsh Fusiliers before being posted to the 17th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers when he went into the front line. Just over a month later on the 31st July he was wounded by a gunshot wound to his hand and taken out of the line for treatment. He returned to the Base Depot a week later and by the end of August he had gone back to his Battalion in the field. On the 19th September he was granted ten days leave and he returned to Hemel Hempstead to see his family and friends. By the end of October he was back in France with the 17th Royal Welsh.

During 1918, Montague spend much time in the trenches with his comrades, mainly is support of other units, however, in August, he fought in the Battle of Albert which was significant as the opening push in a series of actions which ultimately brought the war to a successful conclusion for the Allies. Only a few days later Montague was again in action at the Battle of Bapaume, and it was here that his luck finally ran out. On the 1st September, the Battalion attacked the German positions near Morval and despite progress it was forced to fall back after supporting units failed to keep pace. Despite being outflanked the 17th Battalion still captured prisoners in large numbers but also suffered some casualties in the attack. Thirty-two men fell and one of these sadly was Montague. 

He was Killed in Action on Sunday, 1st September 1918.

A brief report of his death was published in the Hemel Gazette six weeks after he was killed.

Montague is Remembered with Honour on the memorial in Vis-En-Artois cemetery, Pas de Calais, France, on Panel 6.

He was 25 years old when he died.

Montague was entitled to the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.