Frederick Croucher

Dates

Christening:

Marriage: Never married

Death: 1973 In his bedsit near the railway station, Farnham, Surrey, UK

Children

Notes

Also known as Rust or Rusty.

I'll tell you the tale of a cyclist
And the daring deeds he has done
How he has ridden down hills with his brakes off
Because he had none to put on

His real name is Fred Croucher
But he's known to his friends as Rust
And by gum his cycle is rusty
And covered with mud and dust

He neither cleans nor overhauls it
The nuts and the bolts are gone
In places it is tied together
And the wheels are wired on

The machine is well known in the district
By ear as well as by sight
For who in the world could mistake it
About 10 o'clock every night

The dogs in the yards would be barking
As he rides through the mist and the rain
And the good folk would listen, then whisper
There's Rusty's old iron again

One day he was trying to sell it
Would anyone buy it, no fear
His price was an ounce of Nut Brown
And half a pint of club beer

But Rust didn't care for the chaffing
He rode on till he got a bad skid
Then the kids all gathered around him
And asked for a ride on his grid

Of course not one was in earnest
Who was there to dare such a game
For to ride the old iron in public
Would earn one a terrible name

When Rust saw they did not mean it
He tied up the broken chain
Threw his leg over the saddle
And was off with the rattle again

Down hills, around corners, he sped on
With nothing his speed to check
Whilst folk stood gasping, expecting
Him to fall off and break his neck

Now that is the story of Rusty
Have you ever heard the like
A head like a blazing prairie
Astride a rusty old bike

William Croucher 1924

Although he lived in Farnham, he seems to have lost touch with the rest of the family. I went with my father to see him in the late 1960's when he gave me a very small wood plane. My father cleared his bedsit after his death - it was full of books. My father and his sisters went to the cremation at Guildford, but due to a mixup over dates, were a day too late.

Relationship

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