Laurence Crossley “Lorry; also recorded as L., RH6296206” Ashby
Corporal · #6296206
| Rank | Corporal |
|---|---|
| Service number | #6296206 |
| Regiment | The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) |
| Known as | “Lorry; also recorded as L., RH6296206” |
| Died | 1941-12-22 |
| POW / KIA | Died of wounds or in action — 22 Dec 1941, Western Desert |
What this roll records
*** THREE FIELDS ON THIS CARD HAVE BEEN CORRECTED AGAINST HIS COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION RECORD. *** He is CORPORAL LAURENCE CROSSLEY ASHBY, service number 6296206 — a British number, not the Rhodesian RH6296206 this roll carried — of the 1st Battalion, The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), with the Long Range Desert Group as his secondary unit. HE DIED ON 22 DECEMBER 1941, AGED 22, not on 21 September 1941, and is buried in BENGHAZI WAR CEMETERY, Libya, in joint grave 8. B. 28-29. THE EARLIER DATE IS NOT SIMPLY DELETED. This card previously gave 21 September 1941, killed by R.A.F. friendly fire alongside Riggs, on the authority of ‘Special Forces in the Desert War 1940-43’, p. 118. That book and the CWGC cannot both be right about this man, and the CWGC record — which names him in full, gives his parents and quotes his headstone — is the stronger. The friendly-fire account is recorded here so that anyone following it up knows where the disagreement lies. AND THE PATROL INFERENCE IS NOW UNSAFE: this card places him in S Patrol on the strength of a Rhodesian service number that turns out not to be his. His FAMILY was at Hillside, Southern Rhodesia, which is very likely where the Rhodesian association came from, but he served on a British number in a British regiment.
Patrol S (S1/S2) INFERRED from Rhodesian/South African service number (SR/RH prefix) - the LRDG Rhodesian & S.African squadron formed S Patrol. Specific S1/S2 not individually confirmed.
ROLL OF HONOUR: died on active service with the LRDG (Rhodesia) per W.B. Kennedy Shaw, "Long Range Desert Group" appendices. Appendix 2.
No matching CWGC casualty record could be found for this man (searched by name and by service no. RH/6296206). His date of death held here, 21 September 1941 (killed by RAF friendly fire, with Riggs), is from 'Special Forces in the Desert War 1940-43', p.118.
CWGC record (2026): Corporal LAURENCE CROSSLEY ASHBY, service no. 6296206, 1st Bn. The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), with the Long Range Desert Group recorded as his secondary unit. Died 22 December 1941, aged 22. BURIED AT BENGHAZI WAR CEMETERY, Libya — joint grave 8. B. 28-29. Son of Leonard Frederick and Florence Agnes Ashby, of Hillside, Southern Rhodesia. His headstone bears the inscription “Through deep sorrow and his supreme sacrifice shall dawn the freedom of mankind.” NOTE THREE CORRECTIONS: the Commission gives his death as 22 December 1941, not 21 September; his forenames as Laurence Crossley; and his number as the British 6296206, without the RH prefix carried here. His family were in Southern Rhodesia, but he served in a British regiment on a British number, so the S Patrol attribution inferred from that prefix should be treated with caution. Source: Commonwealth War Graves Commission, https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2063642/laurence-crossley-ashby/
HIS PATROL HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN FROM THIS CARD. He was placed in S Patrol, and grouped with the Rhodesians, on one piece of evidence only: the RH prefix on the service number this roll held for him. His Commonwealth War Graves Commission record shows that number was not his — he was 6296206 of the 1st Battalion, The Buffs, a British number in a British regiment. With the number gone the inference built on it has no support left, so the patrol is now recorded as unknown rather than guessed. His family were at Hillside, Southern Rhodesia, which is the likeliest reason the Rhodesian association arose in the first place, and it remains possible that S Patrol is where he served — but it would need evidence of its own.
See him in the full roll →Where this comes from
- AKA added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll (missing information).
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Not By Strength But By Guile