Doug Cronk was from Southend where he had sold ice cream. He was born in Essex in 1919 and married in 1940 Dorothy (nee Thomas) at Blandford, Dorset, where his son was born three years later. Dorothy lived in Kings Lynn during the early part of the war to be near him.
After the war he moved to Dorset with his family and became a bus driver. He spoke little of his time in the SAS and never about Aux Units. Dorothy died in 1991.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Norfolk Scout Section | Scout Section Member | Unknown | 1943 |
| Operation Kipling | SAS combatant | 17 Aug 1944 | 26 Sep 1944 |
| Operations Archway & Howard | SAS combatant | 16 Mar 1945 | 08 May 1945 |
| Operations Archway & Howard | SAS combatant | 16 Mar 1945 | 08 May 1945 |
Ice Cream Salesman
Doug enlisted in 1939, following in his father's footsteps as he had served in the Bedfordshire Regiment in the First World War, being wounded. He joined the 2nd Battalion, who were stationed at Gravesend in Essex. They were sent to join he British Expeditionary Force in France. They were involved in several actions and retreated through Dunkirk, to be evacuated back to Britain.
Exactly when he joined the Scout Section is not known. Men tended to be recruited form the Regimental depots and possibly he joined in late 1940.
After serving with the Auxiliary Units, and following return to his regiment, he was later recruited to the SAS on 1 Feb 1944 along with several members of his former Scout Section. He reckoned that getting in trouble with the MPs while on a night out in Glasgow was actually helpful to improve a soldier’s reputation in the elite regiment. He was apparently promoted to Lance Corporal by April 1944.
After being dropped into France, on 30 Aug 1944, following an ambush he found himself in a wood, just yards from a German soldier. The German was throwing a grenade that bounced off Doug’s chin. But he had forgotten to pull the pin, and before he could reach for another, Doug shot him dead.
Doug went on to serve in Belgium, where he saw V2 rockets hitting Antwerp city centre.
He later went to Norway in May 1945 as part of Operation Apostle, helping to disarm German soldiers there after the surrender of Germany. Returning to the UK, he received a certificate on 16 Nov 1945 as he left the SAS, shortly before he was demobbed.