Anthony Crossley was born on 13th August 1903. Educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford, he joined the Conservative Party and was elected to the House of Commons to represent Oldham in October 1931.

Crossley was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Transport (1932-35). He joined the British armed forces soon after the outbreak of the Second World War and was killed in action off the coast of Denmark on 15th August 1939.