Crawley-Boevy E M Captain 1st Royal Sussex Regiment
CAPTAIN E. M. CRAWLEY-BOEVEY
Ist BATTALION THE ROYAL SUSSEX REGIMENT
EDWARD MARTIN CRAWLEY-BOEVEY was the second son of Sir Thomas Crawley-Boevey, Bart., of Flaxley Abbey, Newnham, Gloucestershire. He entered the School in 1887, left in 1892, entered the R.M.C., Sandhurst, in 1894, was appointed Second Lieutenant in the Royal Sussex Regiment in 1895, promoted Lieutenant in 1897, and Captain in 1902.
He served in the South African War, taking part in the actions at Houtnek, Vet River, Zand River, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Diamond Hill, Wittenburg, and Ladybrand, was mentioned in Despatches, and received the Queen’s Medal with four Clasps, and the King’s Medal with two. As a Lieutenant he was sent with one hundred men from the Cape to represent the Regiment at King Edward’s Coronation. When the War broke out, he was at the Depôt at Chichester, after having served several years with the 1st Battalion in India.
He was a skilful company leader, a noted marksman, an excellent draughtsman, and was greatly esteemed by all ranks, especially by the men of his own Company. The complete confidence he inspired in his sub- ordinates may be shown by a sentence taken from a letter written by one of his junior brother Officers: “I can truly say, without any flattery, that I would have followed him to Hell.”
He was killed in the trenches, near Bailleul, on December 24th, 1914 being at the time attached to the 4th Battalion Royal Fusiliers, to which Regiment he had taken out a draft in November. Age 41.
He married, in 1905, Winifred, youngest daughter of Colonel Sartorius, C.B., of Thorwald, Godalming, Surrey, and left one son.