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Sgt. Arthur William Kruse MM.
British Army 31st Battalion Machine Gun Corps
Born in 1882, the son of Cord Heinrich Kruse, a German immigrant and wine merchant, Arthur Kruse was very much a London boy growing up in Harlesden. Arthur joined the YMCA in 1904, aged 21, and married his childhood sweetheart, who was his next door neighbour's daughter, Ada M Matthews, who were a family of hatters, in 1912. They had a very long and, I believe, very happy marriage. He was an active member of the YMCA both before and after his wartime service. The Sunderland Echo newspaper wrote up his 50 years of membership in 1954. During his time as Secretary of Herrington Burn YMCA, and of the Sunderland Association, he shrewdly invited Mr. R Gurney (then Sunderland Centre Forward) as a supporting guest speaker in 1936.
His German heritage did not prevent him from answering Kitchener's call to arms for long but this might have done as he was 33 years old when he enlisted on 23rd of November 1915. He was transferred into the Machine Gun Corps in mid-April 1917. I believe that his army number, 98543, falls within a group of men who all came from Battersea and Balham.
My grandmother, Dorothy Ingmire (nee Bonner) was brought up by her Matthews family Aunts and Arthur Kruse gave her away at her wedding to my grandfather Gordon Ingmire. There are three anecdotes that my father, David Ingmire, told us about Arthur.
Arthur had dropped his particularly treasured shaving kit during a move through no-mans land. As well as complaining about this incident, his fondness for the item was well known to his men. He must have been quite a popular chap as, the following morning, the retrieved shaving kit was presented to him simply with a "There you go sarge!". One of the men had been out in the dark to retrace their steps through no-man's land to find it.
The second story was that, when he won his Military Medal (it is not known exactly what it was for or where he won it)' he was very saddened because he had lost two of his ammunition feeders to enemy fire but continued to keep the gun in action.
Records of the 14th Field Ambulance show that he was wounded on or about 28th June 1918 in the left shoulder and right arm. He was actually not shot by the Germans on this occasion but by a British sentry. He had captured a German soldier and was bringing him back at gun-point to the British trench. As they neared the trench, the German started acting up the and the British sentry, thinking that they were both Germans, shot and hit Arthur. Wounded in the both arms, he could not hold his rifle, so told the prisoner that he had best be off!
Whilst away at the trenches, a window at home was broken with a brick because of his German name and once, when he was on leave, he was sitting outside a cafe and was handed a white feather (for cowardice) by a lady who should have known better. He politely handed the feather back to her and told her that he did not need it.
He was discharged on account of wounds on 24th September 1919, aged 36 years 8 months and was awarded Silver War Badge No 03106 which was sent to him on 22nd December 1919.
