CRAWCOUR, Murray Mayer (1919-1993)
Lawyer and author, Murray Mayer Crawcour was notable as one of the administrators responsible for the production of the landmark reference work, 'Encyclopaedia Judaica' , the first edition of which was published from 1971 to 1972 in sixteen volumes. He was the son of Henry Isaac Crawcour, a notable Geelong lawyer, and Rose Leah nee Renzel.
He first attended Miss Cathcart’s kindergarten in Newtown before entering Geelong College Preparatory School in 1925. In January, 1941 he enlisted in the RAAF serving with 6 Squadron in the Middle East and Italy during World War II. He was discharged in January, 1946. An extract from a letter from him was published in Pegasus in 1943. His Diary of a World War II Airman published privately in Israel was an account of his wartime experiences, but also included a considerable amount of biographical material about his life, including his years at Geelong College. He describes several teachers in vivid and occasionally uncomplimentary terms. His father, Henry Isaac Crawcour (1876-1938) OGC 1891, and brother Jack Athol Crawcour, similarly, a lawyer, (1917-1996) OGC 1925-1935, also attended the College.
Sources: 'Heroes and Fools – The Diary of a WW II Airman', 1989 Appendix II Pages 151-157; Letter-Pegasus December 1943 p61. Ad Astra.