Percy Arthur Pearce

Memorial: Rockhampton - St Oswald's Churchyard

Regiment: Lancashire Fusiliers

Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Silver War Badge, Victory Medal

Rank and number: Lance Corporal 328062

Parents: Arthur and Frances Alice Pearce

Home address: Home address: Thornbury, Bristol Lived: Newton Farm, Rockhampton

Pre-war occupation: Farm Manager

Date of birth: c. 1888

Place of birth: Shepperdine, Thornbury

Date of death: 04/09/1918

Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Lebucquiere Communal Cemetery Extension, Pas de Calais, France and commemorated at St Oswald’s Church Rockhampton.

Age: 30

Further information:

Percy was born at Shepperdine,Thornbury, the son of a farm bailiff. He was one of two children with an older sister Winifred. In 1911 Percy and his parents were staying at his married sister's farm in Dursley and at that time Percy was recorded as unemployed. Subsequently however, he lived with two spinster aunts, his mother’s sisters Elizabeth and Emily Taylor, on their farm where he was working as a farm manager. In January 1916 he applied for exemption from war service on the grounds that he was the only man on the farm doing all of the work. However, his application was rejected as he was not considered indispensable.

Percy initially enlisted with the Gloucestershire Regiment (201833) later transferring to the 1st/8th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, where he was promoted from Private to Corporal. Percy's battalion mobilised for war landing in Alexandria to help secure the safety of the Suez Canal. In February 1917 the battalion moved to France and fought in various actions on the Western Front including The Third Battle of Ypres and The Battles of Arras and Albert. Percy was killed in action, the day after The Second Battle of Bapaume (21 August - 3 September 1918) whilst his battalion was involved in clearing out German machine gun nests.

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
http://www.thornburyroots.co.uk/war/ww1-exemptions-n-z/