William Henry Croker
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On 29 June 1926 William married Fannie Lucy Dawson, below is the wedding announcement. “CROKER, 43, printer, Ontario, 110 Blantyre Ave., son of Edward CROKER, born in England & Ellen RIDOUT, married Fannie Lucy DAWSON, 37, stenographer, born in England, 40 Rushbrook Ave., daughter of Frederick Whin DAWSON, born in England & Annie HUGGINS, witness: William J. KESTER of 88 Fulton & Olive MacKAY of 205 Brookside Dr.” William was an active member of the CCF (NDP) Party since 1933 and I remember as a child my father and Uncle Bill talking about Tommy Douglas and the NDP Party in the living room on Hiltz Ave, in Toronto. At one point in his life he was the oldest living member of the CCF party. William Henry Croker was the son of Edward Molesworth Croker born 4 December 1857 in Malvern, Islington, Greater London, Middlesex, England, he came to Canada in 1872 at the age of 15, in 1922 he was Reeve of Scarborough, Ontario. Edward Molesworth Croker was also a contractor and he built the neighbourhood and house that William lived in on Hiltz Avenue, which was named after a neighbour in Frenchman’s Bay. He owned the majority of land around Frenchman’s Bay, near Pickering, Ontario and the hotel there, William and Ida, his sister, had cottages on Frenchman’s Bay. When they sold the old hotel William used the pool table from the hotel as his dinning room table. On 28 March 1881 at the age of 23 he married Ellen Ridout, in Toronto, Ontario. They had the following children:
In 1929, Edward Molesworth Croker was hit by a car and spent a long time in hospital and died from arterios sclerosis.
Alice Eleanor Croker married a relative of her mother Edward Batt Curteis and moved to Austrailia where they had a family in New South Wales. Colonel William Croker 1788-1852 married Elizabeth Stokes on 14 July 1819 in Calcutta, India. They has six children:
William Croker enlisted in the 17th Regiment of Foot (Leicestershire) posted Ensign on 27 March, 1803. He was a Captain by 1806 and appointed Brevet Major in August, 1819. He served with the regiment for almost all of his working life, finishing off commanding it during the 1st Afghan war of 1839. He first appears in the Regiment’s In 1826 six companies under the command of Major Croker returned to Britain for Home Service. They were then ordered to Paisley and marched to Greenwich before embarking for Liverpool (in the days before railways!). From there they were despatched to Ireland and in 1827 were in Galway and in 1828 in Dublin. In 1829 they returned to England before being earmarked for a 5-year tour in Australia guarding convicts. In 1831 he commanded the Last Guard of the 17th Regiment as a Major, who were then posted to Van Diemen’s Land, Tasmania (Australia). He was appointed to the junior Regimental Lieutenant Colonel post and arrived as a Lieutenant Colonel, on 26 March, 1831 on the "Red Rover with wife Eliza". In 1833 William Croker was Commandant of Bathurst, New South Wales, responsible for security and the penal colonies, and there in 1833 his daughter Emma was born. There are references to him as the Bathurst Commandant in the papers of William Watson held by the University of Newcastle, Australia, including "I rode over to Bathurst. I waited on the Commandant to whom His Excellency the Governor had been so kind as to favour me with a letter of introduction. I was very kindly received by the Major who promised to do everything in his power to serve me and the cause in which I was embarked at Wellington". In 1836 the Regiment was ordered back to India to Poona and the senior Regimental Lieutenant Colonel Despard, In 1838 the regiment was ordered into field service and marched to Bombay commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Croker, under command of Major General Gordon, and then on into Afghanistan. The regiment marched 300 miles with the Army to Hyderabad which they captured in 1839, then moved onto Quetta, Candahar and later on to the siege of the fortress of Ghuznee. The 17th formed the centre of the assault on the citadel under Lieutenant Colonel William Croker, which then surrendered. William was awarded the Order of the Doorance Empire by Shah Soojah on his restoration to the Afghan throne. The regiment then went on to the successful siege of and assault on Khelat in Nov 1839. During the occupation of Khelat, Lieutenant Colonel William Croker was personally attacked by tribesmen who were fought off. As a result of his actions in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel William Croker was awarded the Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on 20 December, 1839 and on the conclusion of the campaign in 1840 the regiment was Captain John Lacy Croker - Son Of Colonel William Croker’s Brother Edward
The Croker's and the regiment served on in India and Aden until 1847 when it returned to England. John Lacy Croker stayed on with the Regiment and as a captain was killed during the Crimean War at Sevastopol in the attack on the Redan (fort) on 18 June 1855 and buried on Cathcart’s Hill. The inscription on his gravestone reads "Sacred to the Memory of Captn J L Croker 17th Regt who fell in action 18th June 1855". He is recorded on a tablet in St Mary’s Church and on the Crimean War 1854-55 Memorial Tablet at RMA Sandhurst (presumably in the Chapel). The 17th Regiment’s history records the two captains involved in the attack at Balaklava on 22 Mar 1855 and later described the death of John during the assault on the Redan, describing his conduct as "beyond praise". The renowned War Photographer, Roger Fenton took his photograph, together with others of a group of 17th Regiment officers, another relative, Lt General Pennefather and graves on Cathcart’s Hill at Balaklava. The photograph is titled "Capt Croker 17th Regiment" and copies are held in a number of Fenton collections including in the US Library of Congress and the Gallery of the Water Colour Society. Major General Sir Henry Leycester Croker KGB CMG
“HENRY LEYCESTER CROKER In loving memory of Major General Sir Henry Leycester Croker KGB CMG Commanded 2nd Bn the Leicestershire Regiment from 11 Nov 1910 to 18 Mar 1915. Commanded 81st Infantry Brigade in France from 21 Mar 1915 to 20 May 1916 and the 28th Division in Macedonia from the 21st May 1916 to 18th November 1920. Died 20 August 1938. Born on Oct 17th 1864, Henry Croker joined the army in 1886. Served in the Boer War, mentioned 3 times in despatches and given a brevet majority. In the Great War he was wounded and mentioned 4 times in despatches. Holder of the Queen’s Medal with 2 clasps, he retired in 1923. He was awarded the KCB 2 years later. Sir Henry died in London aged 73”. The Cheltenham College Register of 1910 lists his career to that date in more detail as follows: Henry Leycester Croker was the son of Captain E Croker, 17th Foot. Henry Croker followed his father (Edward) into the family regiment from the Militia on 28 April 1886. He was Adjutant 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment (1899–1903), including active service in the South African War (1899–1902), during which he was three times mentioned in despatches. He was appointed CO 2nd Battalion Leicestershire Regiment in November 1910, but within a month had exchanged commands with the CO of the 1st Battalion. This emphasises the value that pre-war officers put on commanding the battalion in which they had begun their careers. Croker was CO 1st Leicestershire until March 1915, as part of 16th Brigade, 6th Division, when he was promoted to brigade command as GOC 81st Brigade, 27th Division. 27th Division served on the Western Front only until November 1915. Its involvement in major operations was confined to the fighting at Second Ypres following the We can trace the Croker family back to 1360 to Sir John Croker. With all this illustrious family military history one wonders why Uncle Bill never enlisted. I asked my father, he wondered as well but said he never brought it up with Uncle Bill, it just wasn’t done back then.
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William Henry Croker was born on May 17, 1883 in Owen Sound, Ontario.
Edward Molesworth Croker’s father was Dr. John Rees Croker, a surgeon, born at Fort William, Calcutta, East India in 1821. In 1850 he married Susan Eleanor Curteis in Chelsea St Luke, England. At time of marriage he was an officer in the army and his father was listed as William an officer in the army. Dr. John Rees Croker died of a heart attack due to exhaustion in his office on July 12, 1883. They had seven children:
Colonel William Croker came from an upper class family background in what is now Southern Ireland, his family having been primarily landed gentry with connections to the Irish aristocracy. Ireland having been a turbulent country for hundreds of years, there were also many military connections running through the family. Not much is known of Elizabeth Stokes’ background or where she and William were married. She was apparently born in India and her eldest son John Lacy was born there in 1820, so they presumably met and were married there between 1815 and 1820. During this first "tour" of India, 4 of their 5 children were born between 1820 and 1823? (It is a possibility that Elizabeth was born in India but may have been christened at Cape Town, South Africa (on the way home?). No record in IGI for India but an Elizabeth Stokes, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth was christened on 8 Dec 1796 at the Chaplaincy to British Forces, Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.)
John Lacy Croker, born 1820 India, served as an Ensign in the 17th Foot (Leicestershire Regiment) (gazetted 5 June 1839), Edward, his brother, (gazetted 21 Oct 1839) and had served under him on field service in India, possibly in the latter stages of the 1st Afghan war campaign, but certainly later in India. In 1840 they had probably accompanied the regiment when it embarked on the transport "The Hannah" which was wrecked off the Indian coast but evacuated in good order. 
Henry Leycester Croker’s (William Croker’s grandson, his son Edward's son) inscription on a monument in St Martin’s Cathedral, St George’s Chapel