Charles George William Croome

Memorial: Thornbury - St Mary's Church

Regiment: Royal Navy

Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal

Rank and number: Leading Stoker 311093

Parents: Charles William and Charlotte Croome

Marital status: Single

Home address: Gloster Road, Thornbury, Bristol

Pre-war occupation: Seaman

Date of birth: 1879

Place of birth: Almondsbury, Bristol

Date of death: 31/05/1916

Buried/Commemorated at: Plymouth Naval Memorial (Ref. 15.), Devon

Age: 28

Further information:

Bronze Tablet and Wooden Memorial Board

Charles George William Croome, known as George, was the son of Charles Croome, a letter carrier or rural postman. The 1901 census shows his mother, Charlotte, was in prison in Bristol, while his father was living and working in Almondsbury. George and his siblings were in the Thornbury Union Workhouse. By the time of the 1911 census George was probably serving in the Royal Navy. His father was in the workhouse and his mother was a patient in Barnwood House Institution, a mental hospital at Gloucester

George was a leading stoker on the battlecruiser H.M.S. Indefatigable when she was sunk at the battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle of the war. Hit several times by shellfire from the German cruiser Von der Tann, her magazine was thought to have been penetrated, causing a huge explosion that ripped a hole in her hull. Sinking by the stern, she was struck again, causing a second explosion. The Indefatigable turned over and ‘in a moment all trace of her was gone’ (Sir J. S. Corbett, 1923). Of the 1,019 crew only two survived. George’s body was never recovered

The Plymouth Memorial is situated centrally on The Hoe which looks directly towards Plymouth Sound. After the First World War, an appropriate way had to be found of commemorating those members of the Royal Navy who had no known grave. It was decided that the three manning ports at Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth, should each have an identical memorial of unmistakable naval form, an obelisk, which would serve as a leading mark for shipping

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

Thornbury Roots website: Thornbury and District Museum Research Group, Forces War Records and the CWGC