Celebrity Genealogy      Research - My Family Ancestry

Remembering My Great Grandfather: Private Norman Ross Crosby (1889–1916)

This is the story of my maternal great-grandfather, Norman Ross Crosby, the son of Charles James Crosby and Annie Dunlop.

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Early Life in Toronto (York)

Norman was born in York, Toronto on December 23, 1889, the second eldest of six children. His twin brother and sister, Charles and Lily, were born two years earlier, followed by younger siblings Beatrice, Daisy, and Donald (who tragically passed away at age five).

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Marriage and Family

On January 24, 1911, Norman married my great-grandmother, Margueritte Dorothy Tinsdill. At the time, Norman was 21 and Margueritte was 18. Their first son, Gordon Charles Crosby, was born later that same year. The following year, in October 1912, they welcomed their daughter, Anne Margueritte Crosby—my maternal grandmother. Their third child, Norman Crosby, was born in 1915 after his father had already volunteered for military service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF).

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Enlistment and Military Service

In September 1915, Norman enlisted for military duty and left for France shortly after. Historical records indicate that he had previously served with a volunteer militia in Toronto, making his enlistment a natural continuation of his patriotic service. With a strong sense of duty, Norman left behind his young family to fight for King and Country during the First World War.

He was assigned to Division “A” of the Central Ontario Regiment, part of the 20th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, Canadian Expeditionary Force—a unit that would go on to serve with great distinction in some of the most brutal and defining battles of World War I.

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The 20th Battalion (Central Ontario Regiment), CEF

Authorized on August 6, 1914, and mobilized at Toronto’s Exhibition Grounds on November 7, 1914, the 20th Battalion was composed of volunteers from several Ontario militia regiments, including the 12th York Rangers, 36th Peel Regiment, and 97th Algonquin Rifles.

After arriving in France on September 15, 1915, the battalion joined the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division, Canadian Corps, and was immediately thrown into the trenches of the Ypres Salient, enduring months of shellfire, disease, and trench warfare.

Over the next three years, the 20th Battalion fought in many of the Great War’s most infamous battles, including:

• The Battle of St. Eloi (1916)

• The Battle of the Somme (1916)

• Vimy Ridge (April 1917)

• Hill 70 (August 1917)

• Passchendaele (October–November 1917)

• Amiens and Arras (1918)

• The Pursuit to Mons (November 1918)

The battalion earned 18 Battle Honours and 398 decorations and awards, including two Victoria Crosses. By the end of the war, 855 officers and men of the 20th Battalion had lost their lives.

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The Battle of the Somme and the Death of Private Norman Ross Crosby

My great-grandfather’s service was tragically cut short exactly one year after arriving in France. On September 15, 1916, during the Battle of Courcelette—part of the larger Battle of the Somme—he was killed in action.

According to letters, government documents, and an eyewitness account published in the Toronto Telegram (now the Toronto Star), Norman was struck by a German shell, a so-called “whizz-bang”, while in a communication trench. He never regained consciousness and was buried near Courcelette.

Unfortunately, due to the fierce fighting and repeated loss and recapture of the area, many grave markers were destroyed. Dog tags were not commonly worn, as soldiers often considered them bad luck. As a result, Norman’s exact burial site remains unknown.

His name is now engraved on the Vimy Ridge Memorial in France—a solemn tribute to the more than 11,000 Canadians who died in France during the First World War with no known grave.

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Legacy

Private Norman Ross Crosby gave his life in service to Canada at the age of 26, leaving behind a wife and three young children. His sacrifice is forever remembered by his family and honored among the tens of thousands of Canadians who fought bravely during The Great War.

Today, his name lives on through the Queen’s York Rangers (1st American Regiment), which perpetuates the legacy of the 20th Battalion, CEF—the very unit in which he served and died with courage and honour.