Wow! I am so excited to finally have (almost) found a photo of my Uncle David Crombleholme. Over the past few years of searching online I have found out his service number, battalion, date and place of death and where he was buried. A friend of mine recently visited France and laid flowers at Uncle David's grave at Beaumont Hamel cemetery. David Crombleholme was my mother's half brother. Their mother remarried in 1919 after both her husband and David, her son, died in 1917. My mother was born in 1920 and died last year aged 96. Uncle David has always been a legend in our household even though none of us ever met him.My brother was named after him. To me, Uncle David symbolised the terrible waste of young lives during the First World war.
David Crombleholme, 19708, was born in Hulme, Manchester in 1897 or 1898. He served with the 21st Regiment, A company 4 Platoon.
He was killed between 10-12 January, 1917 near Albert, France and is buried in Beaumont Hamel. According to information I found on Ancestry in 2011 (letters to Harry Haigh from Sgt. William Greenhough), David was killed by a sniper and is buried alongside his sergeant, Harry McGreaves. Also killed around the same day were Samuel Calvert Bennett, John Houghton and Lt. WH Dunderdale.
I have no idea which of the men in the A company 4 Platoon is Uncle David and I don't suppose there is any way of finding out but at least I know now that he is among the men looking out at me from the photograph. Thank you so much for posting it and honouring all those young men who fought so bravely.
