Major Christopher Crouch
Helicopter commander who earned a DFC for his courage during a fierce engagement in Aden
MAJOR CHRISTOPHER CROUCH, who has died aged 88, commanded a flight of three helicopters supporting a Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment patrol involved in a fierce engagement in Aden; his actions earned him a DFC.
On the morning of February 2 1966 a troop of D Squadron of the SAS reported a gang of 12 armed men moving north of their position near Al Milah. Before opening fire on them, it was essential to confirm that they were dissidents. Crouch was told to carry out a reconnaissance of the area. He embarked additional SAS men in the three Scout helicopters and flew at low level to the area. Rounding a bend, Crouch sighted the armed party and his aircraft was hit by small arms fire.
Taking advantage of dead ground, the three Scouts deployed their SAS troops to a position to cut off the enemy. They then redeployed the remainder of D Squadron to encircle the enemy before airlifting troops of the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry as reinforcements.
A running fight continued all day and Crouch was airborne almost continuously, controlling the three helicopters on redeployment and reconnaissance flights in order to track down the remnants of the gang. His aircraft was again hit by small arms fire and he ordered his crewman to plug one hole in a fuel tank with his pencil.
Later in the day he successfully evacuated a seriously wounded NCO of D Squadron from a very exposed position when his Scout was holed for a third time.
The action ended successfully at dusk. The citation to his DFC concluded: “Major Crouch’s handling of his flight throughout the operation was outstanding and its success could not have been achieved without his aircraft. The example set by his own personal courage and initiative was an inspiration to all, both in the air and on the ground.”
The son of Lieutenant Colonel “Pip” Crouch MC, a veteran of the first tank battle, at Cambrai in 1917, Donald Christopher Crouch was born on March 2 1930 at Farnborough in Hampshire and educated at Wellington College. He joined the Army and served as a soldier for a few months before entering the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in January 1948. On passing out in December 1949 he was commissioned into 1 Royal Tank Regiment (RTR).
He served in Germany as a reconnaissance troop leader when the regiment was equipped with Centurion tanks, then in September 1952 the regiment returned to Tidworth to prepare for service in Korea; 1 RTR landed in Korea on December 6 1952 and within 24 hours took up positions in the front line.
Over the next 12 months the regiment was tasked to dominate no man’s land by engaging every movement, observation post and occupied trench. The tanks also supported raids carried out by the infantry. In December 1953 the regiment set off for the Canal Zone to protect British interests in Egypt before returning to England in August 1955.
Crouch was one of the early converts to flying from the wider Army and in 1956 he trained as a pilot. In November he was posted to No 656 Squadron in Malaya, initially as a section pilot and then as flight commander. Flying the Auster AOP 9 light aircraft, he made many reconnaissance sorties searching the jungle for communist terrorist (CT) camps. Using radios and smoke markers, Crouch and his fellow pilots also directed air strikes made by RAF ground attack aircraft. The Austers had the additional role of dropping vital supplies and mail to infantry patrols in forward positions and leaflets over Ct-occupied jungle, often in hazardous weather conditions. He was Mentioned in Despatches twice.
In July 1960 Crouch returned to regimental duty as the second-incommand of a squadron with his parent regiment 1 RTR, based at Hohne in Germany, before attending the Army Staff College. Crouch was always more comfortable with the practical aspects of soldiering than being behind a desk and, after a period on the staff at the Army Air Corps Centre he converted to the Scout helicopter and took command in October 1965 of No 13 Flight of No 3 Wing, Army Air Corps, in Aden.
In February 1967 he returned to Germany, this time as the reconnaissance squadron leader with 2 RTR, before spending two years at the Defence Operational Analysis Establishment. His final appointment before retiring from the Army in May 1973 was as a staff officer at HQ British Army of the Rhine (BAOR).
Shortly after leaving the Army, Crouch was appointed an inspector of racecourses at the Jockey Club. With his extensive experience of helicopter operations, and with the increasing use of helicopters to carry racegoers to courses, he recognised the need for detailed planning to formalise operating procedures, establish safety rules and raise standards for the use of helipads and airstrips sited at racecourses. Many of the policies and practices he established have remained in place until the present time.
Crouch became the secretary of the Distributive Industries Training Trust, established in 1984 to encourage and finance training for employees in the distributive industries.
He retired in 2004, having settled in Rutland, where he enjoyed maintaining his smallholding. He was a fine shot and enjoyed joining neighbouring shoots. He was an enthusiastic champion of Army flying and, although not a member of the Royal Artillery, was made an honorary member of the Air Observation Post Officers’ Association.
Quick-witted, he was excellent company and widely respected.
In 1970 he married Mary Gorton, who survives him with their son.