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.
On 16th September, 1917, Captain Cecil Griffin took off from No.7 Air Acceptance Park, Kenley, in Sopwith Camel B6302. His engine mis-fired badly when he was about 400 yards from the airfield boundary and the aircraft plunged earthwards..
Husband of E. Hobson, of 101, Pitsmoor Rd., Pitsmoor, Sheffield.
Michael spent the early year of WWI serving as a Private in the West Yorkshire Regiment, before transferring to the RAF on 3rd June, 1918
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.
