Crouch, R. A. (Richard Armstrong), 1868-1949

Richard Armstrong Crouch, politician and soldier, was born at Ballarat, Victoria in 1868, the son of George Crouch. In 1892 he was admitted as a barrister and solicitor and commenced practice in Melbourne. A firm supporter of Alfred Deakin, Richard Crouch was a member of the first Federal Parliament in 1901 and a Member of the House of Representatives for Corio, Victoria, between the years 1901 and 1910. Commissioned in April 1892 in the 2nd Infantry Battalion, he served as a Captain from July 1903 in the 6th Australian Infantry Regiment and commanded the Prahran Infantry Militia. He was promoted to Major in 1908 and in 1912 he commanded the 56th Infantry Battalion (Yarra Borderers). Richard Crouch served in the Great War as a Lieutenant-Colonel with the 22nd Battalion A.I.F. in Gallipoli and Egypt in 1915, but in 1916 his military career ended due to illness. On his return to Australia he joined the Labor Party. He became President of the Victorian branch in 1928. He died in 1949.

Richard Armstrong Crouch was a soldier and politician in Victoria.