Arthur, the eldest brother of Alfred Craythorn, was also a career soldier. After working in the metal industry, Arthur joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment 1st Battalion with service number 12.
Arthur was stationed in Peshawar in India in 1908, and gained the Indian General Service Medal (North West Frontier 1908).
The 1st Battalion RWR landed in France in August 1914 for service on the Western Front. The battalion took part in the Battle of Le Cateau, the Battle of the Marne, the Battle of the Aisne and the Battle of Messines during 1914. They were part of the Christmas truce in the trenches.
The Second Battle of Ypres (April 22–May 25, 1915), was the second of three costly battles in World War I at Ypres (now Ieper), in western Flanders. The battle marked the Germans’ first use of poison gas as a weapon . Although the gas attack opened a big gap in the Allied line, the Germans failed to exploit that advantage.
Having transferred to the 2nd Battalion, Private Arthur Craythorn was killed in action at Ypres on the 16th May 1915. Arthur is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial.
The Le Touret Memorial commemorates over 13,400 British soldiers who were killed in the Ypres sector of the Western Front from the beginning of October 1914 to late September 1915, and who have no known grave.
Following the deaths of Alfred and Arthur, the family received a weekly pension of 8s 6d.