British Army Veterinary Corps
William Benn CRONYN
Captain
Died 1 February 1918 · Aged 55
His story
Captain William Benn Cronyn MRCVS was born in Dublin and was the third son of Dr John and Mrs Caroline Cronyn of Dromore, Newport, County Tipperary, Ireland. He was educated at Hanover House, Bray and Foyle College, County Derry. He entered the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College in 1887 and qualified in May 1888.
On the outbreak of war, he joined the Army Veterinary Corps and was attached to the Army Remount Department. He spent two and a half years working in Ireland before volunteering for service overseas despite being over military age.
In April 1917, he was posted to the Indian Veterinary Hospital, Marseilles, and served there for nine months before he contracted influenza. He was evacuated to a hospital in Le Harve but caught Meningitis, and he died there on 1 February 1918. He was 55 and buried at St. Marie Cemetery, Le Herve, France.
Captain Cronyn’s death was reported in The Veterinary Record of 9 February 1918, and his obituary is in The Veterinary Record dated 16 February 1918.
Photographs and documents
Before the war
- Nationality
- British
- Date of Birth
- 1861
- Place of Birth
- Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
- Veterinary College and Date of Graduation
- Edinburgh - May 1888
Military service
- Last Rank
- Captain
- Regiment/Service
- British Army Veterinary Corps
- Secondary Regiment
- Indian Veterinary Hospital Marsailles
- First Theatre of War
- France 1917
Medals and commemoration
- Name on RCVS Honour Board
- Yes
- Name In Officers who died in Great War
- Yes
- Medals and Awards
- British War Medal 1914-1918; Victory Medal
Death and burial
- Date of Death
- 1 February 1918
- Age at Death
- 55
- Place of Death
- La Havre, France
- Cause of Death
- Meningitis
- Cemetery
- St. Marie Cemetery
- Location
- Le Havre, France
- Grave Reference
- Div.62.I.O.6
- Commonwealth War Grave
- Yes - CWGC Headstone
- Emblem or Badge on Headstone
- Cross
Connected men
- Richard SQUIRESAlso buried at St. Marie Cemetery
Sources and further reading
- CWGC casualty and commemoration record
- Find a Grave memorial
- The Veterinary Record, 9 and 16 February 1918 — cited in the earlier biography
- Carlow Sentinel February,1918 — reproduced document
Cite this biography
Graham Hodgkins and Pete Matthews, “William Benn Cronyn”, Veterinary Virtual War Memorial, https://vetsremembered.org/people/william_benn_cronyn/.
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