Percy Charles Thompson

Memorial: Hambrook - Whiteshill Common

Regiment: Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

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

Rank and number: Able Seaman Wales Z/2186

Parents: Francis Arthur and Florence Thompson

Marital status: Single

Home address: 34 Park Street, Cwmcarn, Monmouthshire

Pre-war occupation: Collier

Date of birth: 1895

Place of birth: Winterbourne, Bristol

Date of death: 17/02/1917

Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Queens Cemetery Bucquoy, France and is listed on the Frenchay Roll of Honour of August 1917

Age: 21

Further information:

Percy was born in Winterbourne, the son of a quarryman and the second eldest of nine children with three sisters and five brothers. The family were living at Greenberry Row Hambrook in 1911 and Percy was working as a gardener before they moved to Monmouthshire and Percy began working in the mines.

Percy joined the Lewis Gun Section of the Anson Battalion of the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division as an able seaman in October 1915, when he was described as 5’ 4 ¾ “ with light brown hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion. Percy also previously served with the Gloucestershire Regiment (no. 29768). The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was an infantry division originally formed at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who were not needed for service at sea. The division fought at Antwerp in 1914 and at Gallipoli in 1915 and in 1916. Following many losses among the original naval volunteers, the division was transferred to the British Army and embarked for France in June of 1916 where they fought in various battles on the Western Front. Percy was killed in action in the fighting on the Ancre river in February 1917. He was originally buried at the British Cemetery No 16 Baillescourt Farm near Albert, then reburied at Queens Cemetery (Ref: II. M. 4.) in Bucquoy in France, after the war.

He is listed on the Frenchay Roll of Honour of August 1917.

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/
Yate and District Heritage Centre