Military History

Percy is listed as being killed in action on 19th October 1917. The 5th Battalion war diary entries for the period 18th to 20th October are transcribed below.

Ypres Sector - 18 Oct 1917: There was a considerable amount of shelling all last night, but most of the shells went over the front line. One unlucky hit, however, wounded Captain W. A. Ford and 2nd Lieut. W. Towner. 2nd Lieut. E. W. White was also wounded in the support line.

Rain fell early in the morning and made the trenches very wet, but they dried up a little during the day.

About midday we received a message from the Brigade, asking whether we would remain in two days longer, and then be last battalion up for the next tour.
We answered, " Yes, of course." So at night A and D Companies relieved B and C in the front line; but the relief was not completed until 3 a.m. (19th October), owing to the spasmodic shelling with H.E. and gas shells. The Boche was apparently using gas in H.E. shells, and several of our people were caught out by it.
 
Ypres Sector - 19 Oct 1917: Yesterday we were visited by two Lieut.-Colonels, today we had the Brigadier and Brigade-Major—all inquiring about the ground, with a view to a push to be made at this point in about a week from now. Next came some Tank Officers; and during the day all sorts of other spare parts drifted in at intervals. Inter­mittent shelling went on all day; we seem to be keeping up our average of 20 casualties a day.

More rain at midday made the trenches very nasty, and the apology for a communication trench.
 
Ypres Sector - 20 Oct 1917: At 4 a.m. the Boche put down 15 minutes' anni­hilating fire from our support line backwards, from which we had 6 men killed and 4 wounded. The K.S.L.I., behind us, suffered pretty heavily, too, I fancy.

We had more visitors in the early morning—from the 7th Division. All of them seemed very optimistic about their coming show. A fine and dry day, and things much quieter.

In the afternoon our heavies put in some indifferent shooting on Gheluvelt church; altogether they seem rather off colour at present, our front line having quite an irresistible attraction for them.