Leaving school at 16, Crisp was attracted to journalism and became a youthful follower of Keir Hardie’s socialism. He was a reporter in Reading when conscripted in 1916 and, believing that ‘Thou shall not kill’ was paramount, took the absolutist position. By 1919 he had served four sentences and more than two years in prison. Once this was known he lost a job on a Cardiff paper and, penniless, walked home to Reading. In 1920 he married and eventually found work in Newcastle. He won respect in Woolwich where he worked for many years editing the Kentish Independent and served on Woolwich Council of Social Service.