(L to R) 1914-15 Star; British War Medal

Percy was born in 1890. We don't know anything about his early life or family.

When the First World War broke out in August 1914 Percy lived in the Ashton-under-Lyne area. On the 1st September he joined the 9th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment, which was a unit of the Territorial Force based in Ashton. He was given the service number 2150.

The 9th Battalion, along with the rest of the Territorial Force, had been called into service on the outbreak of war. They were sent to Egypt on the 10th September, arriving on the 25th. Percy either went with them then or was sent to join them soon afterwards.

After several months protecting Egypt from the threat of a Turkish invasion Percy and the 9th Battalion formed part of the force sent to invade Gallipoli. He landed there on the 9th May 1915.

We know very little about the rest of Percy's service. The 9th Battalion fought in Gallipoli until December 1915, and then served in Egypt until February 1917, when they were sent to France. Soldiers serving in units of the Territorial Force were given new service numbers in March 1917. The 9th Battalion was allocated the range 350001 to 375000, and Percy was given 350628.

It is likely that Percy fought in the Passchendaele Offensive of autumn 1917 and then took part in the desperate fighting to stop the German Spring Offensive in March and April 1918.

During this fighting the British took heavy casualties and many units had to be reorganised. The 9th Battalion was reduced to a small number of soldiers, known as a cadre, during April. Percy was transferred to the 1/6th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment and served with them during the Allied advances of the final hundred days of the war. The war came to an end on the 11th November 1918. We don't believe Percy was ever wounded during his service.

Percy was released from the Army on the 30th May 1919. He went to live at 22 Cowper Street in Ashton-under-Lyne. We don't know who was living there with him.

Percy lived at 13 Bollington Street in Ashton in January 1924. We know this because the Imperial War Graves Commission wrote to him at this time. Their job was to find and identify the bodies of British and Commonwealth servicemen who had been killed during the war. They later became the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The Commission had found a part of Percy's Army Pay Book on the body of an unknown soldier. The man's body had been found near Nieuwpoort in Belgium, where Percy had been stationed between September and November 1917. The letter asked if Percy could remember ever losing his Pay Book, and if so, who might have been in possession of it. Unfortunately the Commonwealth War Graves Commission doesn't know whether this man was ever identified.

The rest of Percy's life remains a mystery. As well as his 1914-15 Star and British War Medal, Percy was also awarded the Allied Victory Medal for his Army service.