Trooper Henry Crowder

Henry Crowder, known to friends as Harry, hailed from Billingham in Teeside, a member of the Durham Light Infantry.

Harry joined Airborne Forces as part of 7 Section, C Troop, 1st Airborne Recce Squadron and fought at Arnhem, during Op Market Garden. At the end of the Battle, he was one of the few to evade capture. He was on the run until October as one of a surprisingly large group of men who hid in a barn, owned by Gijs Janssen. They then crossed the Rhine, during the Pegasus One escape operation.

After leaving the Army, Harry worked at ICI for many years. He was a member of the Teeside Branch of the PRA, where I met him. He enrolled me as a member of the FGS Freddy Gough Squadron Club, and I still wear the tie proudly.

Before he died, Harry had asked me to continue putting a cross on a friends grave for him everytime I visit Arnhem, Trooper Ray McSkimmings, who was Killed in Action on 19 September 1944, aged 19.

Harry was a quiet, modest man who was always suprised by visitors wanting to see him. He died suddenly on 12 October 2006 aged 86 years. I was abroad and missed his funeral.