Henry was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, on 28th September, 1887, and baptised at St. Thomas' Church, (now demolished), on 2nd October. He was the eldest of four children born to Edward Critchley, a builder and joiner, and his wife, Mary. Henry followed in his Father's footsteps and was already apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner by 1901, when he was 13 years old.
Wilfred was born circa 1898. His parents were Robert and Jane Gibson, of Easington Lane, Hetton-Le-Hole and he had one sister, Margaret.
At 11.40am, on 1st October, 1918, Second Lieutenant William Millar Gourlay, of 91st Squadron, Kenley, was killed when his Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin stalled and crashed while turning near the ground.
Husband of E. Hobson, of 101, Pitsmoor Rd., Pitsmoor, Sheffield.
On 21st November, 1918, only ten days after the declaration of the Armistice, Captain John Leslie Horridge, of 91 squadron, was killed in a flying accident at Kenley, when his Sopwith Dolphin, D5298 suffered engine trouble at 200ft and crashed onto Kenley Common, after stalling.
On 12th September, 1918, Lieutenant Frederick Plummer took off from Kenley in an Armstrong Whitworth FK8, (F3453), on a ferry flight to France. He had ascended to 200ft and started to turn, when a gust of wind caught the aircraft and it lost flying speed and nose-dived into the ground, wrecking the machine and killing Frederick instantly.
