In 1931 Crossley was elected one of two Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) for the two-seat Oldham borough constituency.
The pilot radioed a report of a fire on board and soon after made an emergency water-landing in the Storstrømmen, not far from the Storstrøm Bridge.
[9] As a Member of Parliament, Crossley's death resulted in the 1939 Stretford by-election, which was won by Conservative Ralph Etherton.
Crossley published three books of poetry: Aucassin and Nicolette and Other Poems, Prophets, Gods and Witches and Tragedy under Lucifer.
His prose works showed his other interests: The History of Eton College Hunt (1922), Chin Wag: The War Records of the Eton Manor Club and The Floating Line for Salmon and Sea Trout (1939, with illustrations by Roy Beddington) .