By Paul Miller
Sir William Charles Crocker was a man often referred to as the “Sherlock Holmes of Insurance”.
Sir William studied law. In 1907, while articled to his father, he observed, while riding a tram along the Thames Embankment, a horse-drawn hansom cab swerve into “one of those new-fangled motor cars.” He gave his name to the driver of the car, promising to speak on his behalf as to the occurrence of the accident. The driver of the car was insured at Lloyd’s, and this chance encounter introduced Sir William to the market.
He was admitted as a solicitor in 1912, by which time, his insurance practice was burgeoning. It led to him investigating and handling all sorts of insurance claims. His career was interrupted by the Great War, during which, he served, first in the Artists’ Rifles and then as a 2nd lieutenant with the 4th Dorset regiment. It was while with the 4th Dorsets that he was awarded the Military Cross:
“4th November, 1918: Led his platoon with great dash and determination during the attack, which involved crossing the canal under heavy machine-gun fire. In mopping up the village of Ors he took over 80 prisoners with his platoon, and later on captured a group of houses with further prisoners. Throughout he set a fine example to his men.”
During his insurance career, Sir William investigated alleged budget leakages and was consulted by Sir Winston Churchill about fifth column activities during WWII.
One of his first cases was related to a house fire that the owner said was caused by a bomb dropped from a Zeppelin. Acting on instinct, Sir William picked up the bomb fragments and took them to an expert, who discovered that they were in fact from more than one bomb and had likely been collected by the house owner.
He was also the solicitor who won the case against the former claims assessor, Leopold Harris, who’s arson gang became front-page news in the 30s. This story brought Sir William further into the public eye and was later told in the film The Fire Raisers. For the trial, the Director of Public Prosecutions made Crocker his Agent. No London solicitor in private practice had ever before been appointed to act for the Crown in this way. The subsequent trial at the Old Bailey lasted 33 days; Crocker was himself provided with an office there and at one point he carried a small automatic pistol among the loose change in his trousers’ pocket.
In 1950, he enjoyed his profession’s highest honour when he was made President of the Law Society.
Sir William was widely known for his wit. In 1960, While addressing the insurance section of the American Bar Association, he spoke about burglary insurance: “It was a fine invention. I have done better out of it than some of the burglars.”
Throughout his career, his secretary was Amy Johnson. After she became the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia, she received a telegram:
“Heartiest congratulations. Don’t be late in the morning.”
