Crook, Philip John Lancaster, 1920-1943

Crook, Philip John Lancaster, son of Edward Arnold Crook, glove manufacturer, of Gt Malvern, Worcs, and Mary Clare Broad, d. of Lieut.-Col. John Lancaster IMS; b. 29 May 1920; adm. May 1934 (B); left July 1938; Univ. of Birmingham; Roy. Tank Regt 1941-3 (Lieut.); killed in action (N. Africa) Apr. 1943.

Philip John Lancaster Crook was born at Streatham, London on the 29th of May 1920 the only son of Edward Arnold Crook, a glove manufacturer, and Mary Clare Broad (nee Lancaster) Crook, later of 5, Heathcroft, Hampstead, London NW11. He was the twin of his sister Elizabeth Lorna.
He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Busby’s from May 1934 to July 1938. He was a member of the Officer Training Corps and was promoted to Lance Corporal in September 1937. He was articled to a firm of solicitors before going on to the University of Birmingham from where he graduated LLb.
He attended an Officer Cadet Training Unit before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Tank Regiment on the 8th of March 1941.
On the 1st of April 1943, Philip Crook was with A Squadron, 50th Royal Tank Regiment which was resting in camp at Djorf. During the day a party from the Squadron was organised to visit the scene of a battle in which they had been involved at the Mareth Line on the 22nd of March 1943 against the German 15th Panzer Division. They were to try to learn the lessons of the fighting there and to salvage equipment from the area. They had been warned that the area had been heavily booby trapped and mined by the Germans before they had retreated and were instructed to take extreme care. During the trip, for reasons which are not known, Philip Crook left the track which had been swept and found to be clear of mines. Following the explosion of a German “S” anti personnel mine he was found lying on the ground badly wounded by shrapnel. He was evacuated to an Advanced Dressing Station where he died of his wounds a few hours later.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Malvern and on the memorial at the University of Birmingham.
He is buried at Sfax War Cemetery Plot X Row D, Grave 20.

Lieutenant 177283 A Squadron, 50th Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps

International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition

Prepared for import into AtoM by Westminster School Archive staff, 2019-2020. Updated by Bethany Duck, Archives Assistant, September 2022.

The Record of Old Westminsters: A biographical list of all those who are known to have been educated at Westminster School from Play 1919 to Election 1989, Volume 4, compiled by F.E. Pagan and H.E. Pagan, Padstow, 1992.

Westminster School Second World War Memorial by John C. Hamblin, 2022.