Ernest Victor Crabbe made it as far as Egypt during the war before being forced to return to Australia. He had enlisted in December 1915 and was allocated to the 49th Battalion. In Egypt he was promptly diagnosed with rheumatism and sent home in July 1916 where he was discharged.
At the time of his enlistment, Crabbe was a 29-year-old tramway employee. He had previously worked in Rosewood, west of Ipswich, where he captained the newly formed Rosewood soccer club in 1912 and was involved in the local cricket club. He continued to work as a tram conductor after the war, until he jarred his wrist and shoulder trying to move a point at Stone’s Corner in May 1925. Later he worked for the Brisbane City Council health department until his retirement in 1949.
Crabbe was the convenor of the Queensland Masonic Choir when he passed away in Greenslopes Hospital in January 1951 aged 66.