| Date of birth: | 25th November 1891 |
| Place of birth: | Sholing, Southampton |
| Regiment: | Dorsetshire |
| Battalion: | 5th |
| Rank / Service No: | Lance Corporal, 3/6310 |
| Died: | 26th September 1916, aged 24 years |
| Commemorated: | Thiepval Memorial, France |
Percy was the oldest of 7 siblings born to Frank THOMAS (Tom) and Kate Louise Holloway (nee Houghton), who married in the first quarter of 1891 in Southampton.
The family lived in Sholing for many years before latterly living at 13 Mortimer Road, Itchen.
Tom was born in Southampton in 1860 and he died in the city in 1913.
Kate was born in Sholing in 1872 and she passed away in the city in 1953.
Siblings
Percy Thomas James
Alice Mabel M. b. 1893 Sholing d. 1924 Portsmouth Married William Griffin in Southampton in 1911. Married George H. Stubbs in Portsmouth in 1920.
Kate Louise b. 1895 Sholing d. 1991 Southampton Aged 96 years. Married Ernest J. Mullett in Southampton in 1914. Married Frederick L. Wiseman in Southampton in 1946.
Thomas (Tom) b. 1899 Sholing d. 1986 Bournemouth Married Kathleen Goulden in Southampton in 1920.
Charles Frederick b. 1901 Sholing d. 1926 Southampton
George William b. 1902 Sholing d. 1978 Southampton Married but unknown.
Frank b. 1907 Sholing d. ?? Married Caroline M. Hall in Southampton in 1928.
On 28 August 1914, the newly formed 5th Dorsetshire battalion went to Grantham for training, as part of the 11th (Northern) Division.
After 6 months training, they moved to Hindhead and joined the 34th Brigade, which was destined for Gallipoli.
On 11 July 1915, the 5th landed at Suvla Bay on the peninsular. In the next 6 months, they lost relatively few to fighting but many more to sickness.
Evacuated in January 1916, the Battalion redeployed to Egypt where they remained for 6 months, digging defences against an expected Turkish attack which never came.
In July 1916 the Battalion went to France, joining VI Corps in the Third Army. Although the Somme offensive had begun on 1 July, the battalion first went into the line in a quieter sector south of Arras.
In September the battalion moved south, to Mouquet Farm, just below Thiepval. This proved to be a bloody introduction to the Somme.
The farm was partly held by the Germans, huge numbers of whom occupied a vast dugout below it. In this action, and the attack that followed, two thirds of the 5th were killed or wounded.
| Researcher: | Mark Heritage |
| Published: | 30th September 2016 |
| Updated: |
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