Gerald Edgecumbe Crichton, born on 8th October 1886, was admitted to King Edward’s School in September 1900. Gerald lived with his parents, William, a merchant, and Bessie, as well as his two younger brothers and two younger sisters. Both of his brothers, Ronald and John, were Old Edwardians and both were also killed in the war. The family lived at 18, Rotton Park Road, Edgbaston. Gerald also had an older brother, Henry, who by the time of the 1911 Census had left home. Henry served with the Royal Navy on HMS Victorious during the war, and was the only Crichton son to survive.
Gerald only attended KES for two years, and does not appear in the School magazines apart from representing the School as part of the swimming team. His older brother Henry outshone him by being a star cricketer and consummate athlete. In the cross country race of 1901, Henry won while Gerald came sixth despite his 4½ minute handicap.
In December 1907 while working as a musician, Gerald emigrated to Australia and settled at Galong, New South Wales, where he began to farm. He joined the Commonwealth Expeditionary Force in February 1915, and was killed in action in a Turkish trench during the attack on Lone Pine District, Gallipoli, on 6th August 1915. He is commemorated on the Lone Pine Australian and New Zealand Army Corps Memorial and, with his brothers, on St Augustine’s Church Memorial, Edgbaston.