He was also an Arctic explorer, holding the longest self-supporting dog-sledge journey in the Guinness Book of Records for 60 years (across Greenland), and Commandant of the Cadet Corps of the Metropolitan Police Service.
The expedition, under the auspices of the Oxford University Exploration Club, was a fourteen-month-long scientific survey of North-East Land.
During World War II Croft served with the British Army in Finland, Norway, and Sweden before returning to active service with No.
Covert missions were carried out to the Italian and French coasts, where secret agents and equipment were landed and picked up.
A member of the expedition, Allan Gill, suffered a serious lower back injury requiring his evacuation.