Private Percy Edward Hitchens
Service #: 3310
Summary
BACKGROUND
Percy Edward Hitchens was born in 1882, in Iluka, son of William Henry Hitchens and Rose Mary (Nipperess) Hitchens. Frederick was one of 11 children and two of his brothers, Thomas & Frederick also enlisted. Both his parents and one brother are buried in Murwillumbah Cemetery. At the age of 24 he married Millicent Burns (Byrnes) at Murwillumbah and, according to NSWBDM, they had Kathleen in 1907, Josephine in 1909, Lawrence in 1911 and Patrick in 1913.
Percy travelled to Brisbane on the 9th October 1915 to complete his application. He answered several questions on the document, and we find out he was a married man and gave his occupation as labourer. His next of kin was his wife, Millicent, of the Post Office, Southport and this changed later to the Post Office, Beenleigh.
He then signed a declaration confirming he had answered the questions correctly and was willing to voluntarily agree to service in the Military Forces of the Commonwealth of Australia. Percy also agreed to allot three fifths of the pay payable to him from time to time during his service to the support of his wife
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CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTING OFFICER
On the second page of the attestation documents the attesting confirms the following; “The foregoing questions were read to the person enlisted in my presence. I have taken care that he understood each question, and his answer to each question has been duly entered as replied to by him”
OATH
He also made the following oath in the presence of the Attesting Officer: “I, Percy Edward Hitchens, swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force until the end of the War, and a further four months thereafter unless sooner lawfully discharged, dismissed or removed therefrom: and that I will resist His Majesty’s enemies and case His Majesty’s peace to be kept and maintained; and I will in all matters appertaining to my services faithfully discharge my duty according to law
SO, HELP ME, GOD.”
MEDICAL EXAMINATION
Percy was 32 years old, 5ft 9inches tall (1.75m) and weighed 170lbs (77kgs). He had a dark complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. Percy was Roman Catholic.
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CERTIFICATE OF MEDICAL EXAMINER
The medical examiner certifies I have examined the abovenamed person, and find that he does not present any of the following conditions, viz: -
Scrofula; phthisis; syphilis; impaired constitution; defective intelligence; defects of vision, voice, or hearing; hernia’ haemorrhoids; varicose veins, beyond a limited extent; marked varicocele with unusually pendent testicle; inveterate cutaneous disease’ chronic ulcers; traces of corporal punishment or evidence of having been marked with the letters D. or B.C; contracted or deformed chest; abnormal curvature of spine; or any other disease or physical defect calculated to unfit him for the duties of a soldier.
He can see the required distance with either eye; his heart and lungs are healthy; he has the free use of his joints and limbs; and he declares he is not subject to fits of any description. I consider him fit for active service
CERTIFICATE OF COMMANDING OFFICER
This is completed during the recruits training. Percy was in Rosebery Park training camp when this was completed on11th May 1916. The commanding officer certifies that this attestation of the abovenamed person is correct, and that the required forms have been complied with. He then states “I accordingly approve, and appoint him as a sapper in the No 4 tunnelling corps with Service Number 3310
TRAINING AT RIFLE RANGE CAMP, ENOGGERA
As was the case with men from the Northern Rivers district in New South Wales, they trained at Rifle Range Camp, Enoggera near Brisbane. The Barracks Block was built as accommodation for men in two dormitories, each 36 feet by 22 feet (10.97 x 6.7 metres). Beds or bunks were not provided, instead each man slept on a palliasse with ground sheet on the floor. For many it was their first time away from home. Men from every walk of life, from clerks and teachers to factory and shop workers, were crammed together
Now training for the new recruits began. Firstly, the recruits had to be inducted into military forms of discipline, command, and order. This was partially achieved through a program of basic training carried and, in a sense, was maintained for a long as a man was in the service. It involved marching and drilling with the rifle, cleaning and caring for personal equipment and being supervised and inspected in ways quite different to ordinary civilian life. For example, no boots should be allowed to get in a bad state of wear but must be sent to the bootmaker without delay for repair. Men who were found with hair long and unshaven had to have a haircut and shave
Secondly, after basic training there followed the far more serious exercise of turning a man into a fighting soldier at least partially prepared for the kind of warfare he was about to experience overseas. The topics and exercises in the syllabus of training were a world away from their former lives and included daily physical training, entrenching, wiring, firing rifle grenades, firing the Lewis light machine gun, dealing with gas attack, using hand grenades, using the bayonet, and the routines to be followed in the trenches.
This training was then put into practice during what were called ‘Field Days,’ when men would practice using the skills they had acquired in mock attacks both by day and by night. How well men had learnt to use their weapons, in cooperation with each other in training, would be tested in the harsh reality of the front line. Training could take several months
INNOCULATIONS
All recruits were given a range of inoculations while in camp. The most important jab was to protect against smallpox and typhoid – indeed, having this was an essential precondition of enlisting.
THE UNIFORM
The recruits were issued with their uniform- service dress jacket was made of Australian wool and its loose fit gave the wearer more allowance for movement. The four large pockets were very useful. A unique feature designed for comfort was the pleated back, which provided a double thickness of cloth down the back that the pack rubbed against. Breeches were corduroy worn with wool wrap puttees. The famous khaki felt slouch hat or early service cap is probably the most distinctive part of the uniform. turned up on the left and featuring a plain khaki band, chinstrap and “rising sun” badge.
SOLDIER’S KIT
Australia's World War I soldiers went to war weighed down by almost 30 kilograms of clothes, weapons, tools and kit.
· Breeches: made from khaki woollen cord fabric, with side pockets and button flies. Soldiers were issued with two pairs of breeches, plus a pair of dungarees. The breeches ended above the ankles and the gap was filled with puttees.
· Braces: worn with breeches.
· Puttees: The men wound these strips of woollen cloth, almost three metres long, upwards from the ankle to just below the knee. Soldiers disliked the puttees, probably with good reason: the tight binding restricted circulation and might even have contributed to the high incidence of trench foot. Mounted troops wore leather leggings.
· Shirt: Soldiers were given two grey, collarless, flannel shirt, plus a military shirt.
· Ankle boots: brown and lace-up.
· Socks: Made from wool or cotton. Soldiers were issued with three pairs.
· Greatcoat: the khaki woollen coat (which weighed about 3kg) often doubled as a soldier's bedding and was his chief protection against the cold and wet. The coat came into its own when snow hit Gallipoli in November 1915 and also on the Western Front.
· Jersey
· Singlets: Soldiers were issued with 2 woollen singlets.
· Cotton "drawers" (underpants): Soldiers were issued with two pairs.
· Abdominal belts: a sort of cummerbund that was issued to keep soldiers warm and supposedly ward off disease.
· Backpacks and webbing: The main backpack was a rectangular sack measuring about 15 inches x 13 inches, closed at the top by a folding cover secured by two straps. The webbing included a web belt, cartridge pouches, small haversack, bayonet frog, an entrenching tool holder (plus another holder for its handle), and a water-bottle holder.
· Identity disc: Soldiers were initially issued with one medal "dog tag" on a cord, but later in the war they were given two tags, made of compressed fibre.
· Soldiers were also issued with a "housewife" - a sewing kit containing such items as needles, thimble, thread, wool and button so they could carry out running repairs.
· Also in their kit were a short-magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) rifle, a rifle sling, a bayonet and scabbard, and an "entrenching tool" (they were "diggers" after all). This came in two parts, with the helve (handle) separate from the spade part.
· Soldiers were issued with eating equipment (knife, fork, spoon, an enamel mug, water bottle (with two-point capacity), and a mess tin with carrier.
· They also had a clasp knife (with marlin spike, tin-opener and lanyard), razor, shaving kit, soap, comb, two towels, field dressing (carried in the tunic's inside pocket), and a hold-all, in which they could pack their private possessions.
· No item was probably looked after more carefully than their service pay book: privates were paid five shillings a day.
TRAINING ROSEBERY PARK MARCH 1916
After completing his initial military training with the 7th Depot Battalion, Percy was transferred to Rosebery Park, Sydney, where he spent approximately two months, from late March until embarking in May 1916. This period was far more specialised than ordinary infantry training. Rosebery Park had become the assembly and training centre for the newly raised Australian Tunnelling Companies, and men destined for No. 4 Tunnelling Company were concentrated there for final preparation before overseas service.
As a sapper in the Tunnelling Corps, Percy would have received instruction quite different from that given to infantry recruits. The Australian Army deliberately sought men with practical mining, engineering, railway, quarrying and labouring experience because underground warfare on the Western Front required technical skills as much as military discipline. Training at Rosebery Park likely included:
· Military engineering duties and the use of engineer tools.
· Construction of trenches, dugouts and underground shelters.
· Timbering and shoring of tunnels to prevent collapse.
· Excavation techniques used in mining and tunnelling.
Handling spoil removal from confined underground workings.
Map reading, surveying and measuring underground galleries.
Use of explosives and mine charges under strict supervision.
Gas precautions and ventilation methods for underground work.
Continued rifle drill, route marches and military discipline.
The instructors knew that once Percy reached France he might find himself working hundreds of feet beneath the battlefield, listening for enemy miners, driving tunnels through clay and chalk, constructing deep dugouts, or helping prepare enormous underground mines beneath German positions. The work demanded physical strength, patience and technical competence rather than the skills of a front-line rifleman alone.
Rosebery Park also served as the place where the various sections recruited across Australia were brought together and welded into a single unit. Men from New South Wales, Queensland and elsewhere assembled there for final organisation before embarkation. By May 1916 No. 4 Tunnelling Company was effectively a complete formation, and Percy would have spent his final weeks learning to work with the men alongside whom he would later serve underground on the Western Front.
For Percy, those weeks at Rosebery Park marked the transition from civilian recruit to specialist military engineer. While much of the training occurred above ground in Sydney, its purpose was to prepare him for one of the most dangerous and highly skilled forms of warfare undertaken by Australian soldiers during the First World War
At Rosebery Park Percy joined the 4th tunnelling headquarters and two sections (8 officers and 153 O.Rs) plus 1st reinforcements consisting of one officer and seventeen other ranks for final training,
VOYAGE OVERSEAS FROM SYDNEY TO ENGLAND MAY 1916
On the 22nd May 1916 his unit embarked on the HMAT 69 Warialda. Alongside his comrades, Percy marched aboard, his boots ringing on the gangway. As the ship’s lines were cast off and the quay began to slip away, the reality of war lay ahead, but for now, the sea breeze carried only the sound of voices and the excitement of men bound for adventure, duty, and the unknown.
SLEEPING & LIVING ARRANGEMENTS
Recruits likely slept in a crowded troop deck below, where rows of hammocks or three-tier wooden bunks were crammed close together.
Air below decks could be stuffy, especially in warmer climates, and seasickness was common during the first few days.
DAILY ROUTINE
Reveille early each morning, followed by physical exercises on the open decks (weather permitting). There were parades and inspections—officers ensured uniforms, rifles, and kit were clean and in order. Training was a little problematic—drill without much space, rifle maintenance, lectures on military discipline, signalling, and trench warfare theory. The ship’s decks were used for marching in tight circles or practising bayonet thrusts into stuffed sacks. Rifle shooting was impossible at sea, so soldiers learned to strip and clean their weapons until it was second nature.
MEALS
Three hearty meals a day were served; breakfast usually consisted of porridge, stew, and tea. Lunch included soup, meat, vegetables, and pudding. Meat, bread with jam and tea was served for dinner. The meals were served in shifts from the ship’s galley. Queues were long, and eating on a rolling ship meant many tried to eat quickly before nausea set in.
HEALTH & SANITATION
Shipboard hygiene was critical—every man was ordered to scrub his section daily to prevent disease. Saltwater baths were the norm, with freshwater rationed for drinking.
THE VOYAGE EXPERIENCE
Entertainment included church drill, concerts, singalongs, card games, and makeshift cricket matches on deck when the weather allowed. In an attempt to keep up morale, an area of the ship was roped off where regular boxing and wrestling tournaments were held. This became commonly known as the Stoush Stadium. No letters could be sent until they reached port, but men often wrote diaries or unsent letters to be posted later.
The troops engaged in lifebelt drill; a cookhouse on deck; soldiers on fatigues peeling potatoes 'spud bashing'; going to the dentist; barber, pay day; soldiers cleaning personal equipment; medical inspection
CROSSING THE EQUATOR CEREMONY
The crossing the Equator ceremony, ‘Neptune’s Journey,’ was played-out on each troopship.
SIGHTS AT SEA
On the way to Egypt, where the ship would refuel & take on supplies, the ship would pass through the Great Australian Bight, cross the Indian Ocean, and stop at Colombo (Ceylon now Sri Lanka) for coal and supplies.
SECURITY
By late 1914, German raiders were active, so lifeboat drills were frequent, and lookouts kept watch for suspicious ships. Troopships generally sailed in convoys or at least took zig-zag courses to make torpedo attacks harder. Ships often travelled under blackout conditions at night, with lookouts specifically watching for periscopes or torpedo wakes. The danger was greatest in the Western Approaches near Britain, where U-boats patrolled choke points like the English Channel and Irish Sea.
EGYPT
After several weeks at sea, the men finally saw the dusty shoreline of Port Said or Alexandria. They could only wonder at the sights and sounds they could see as they watched the ship being refuelled and goods taken on board
ENGLAND
About a fortnight later the men finally saw the green shoreline of England. The reality of leaving home truly sank in. The recruits would soon exchange the ship’s cramped decks for the training grounds of England, preparing for what lay ahead.
ENGLISH TRAINING CAMP JULY 191
The 58 day trip experienced remarkably pleasant weather terminating at Plymouth on 18th July 1916. Four, five and six companies comprising 1064 officers and other ranks were detrained to Amesbury and Tidworth to begin training for the front at Perham Downs camp, one of the major Australian camps in England. For the men of the 4th Australian Tunnelling Company, this was not basic training—they had already completed that in Australia. Instead, Perham Downs served as a final preparation and acclimatisation camp before service in France. The 4th, 5th and 6th Tunnelling Companies spent about six weeks there before crossing to the Western Front.
At Perham Downs Percy would have undergone intensive military engineering training adapted to conditions on the Western Front. The men practised trench construction, timbering underground galleries, laying and maintaining communications, handling explosives, field engineering tasks, and working as organised tunnelling sections. There would also have been route marches across the Salisbury Plain, musketry, physical conditioning, gas-mask drills, and instruction in the latest battlefield methods being reported back from France. The camp's chalk downs and open training areas provided a useful environment for rehearsing the sort of work the tunnellers would soon undertake beneath enemy positions.
HOSPITALISED BULFORD HOSPITAL VD AUGUST 1916
Unfortunately, Percy never completed this period of preparation. On 18 August 1916 he was admitted to the Military Hospital at Fovant suffering from "N.Y.D."—"Not Yet Diagnosed." This was a common administrative term used when a soldier was ill but the precise nature of the complaint had not yet been determined. Fovant was a large military hospital complex serving the many Australian camps scattered across Wiltshire. Thousands of Australian soldiers passed through its wards during the war.
The subsequent transfer to Bulford after the diagnosis provides a strong indication of what the medical officers discovered. Bulford was the Army's specialist venereal disease treatment centre, later becoming the Australian Dermatological Hospital. Soldiers suffering from gonorrhoea, syphilis, or related infections were routinely sent there for treatment and isolation. Such illnesses were treated seriously because they could remove men from active service for weeks or months.
Percy's 29 days at Bulford would have involved regular medical examinations, strict hospital discipline, and treatment that varied according to the disease diagnosed. In 1916, before the antibiotic era, treatment for gonorrhoea often involved antiseptic irrigations and prolonged rest, while syphilis was commonly treated with injections of arsenic-based compounds such as Salvarsan, often combined with mercury preparations. Recovery was monitored carefully before a man was considered fit for duty again.
FRANCE OCTOBER 1916
Percy finally left England for France on 15 October 1916, crossing the Channel and arriving three days later at the Australian General Base Depot. For every reinforcement arriving on the Western Front, the Base Depot acted as a holding and processing centre. Here men were issued with the latest equipment, brought up to date on current conditions at the front, and allocated according to the needs of the various Australian units already serving in the field. For Percy, this was his first direct experience of a nation at war. The sound of distant artillery could often be heard, troop trains moved constantly through the countryside, and wounded men were frequently seen moving in the opposite direction towards the coast.
ETAPLES NOVEMBER 1916
On 4 November he was sent to the Segregation Camp at Étaples. This was a routine measure for many newly arrived reinforcements. The enormous military complex around Étaples handled hundreds of thousands of soldiers during the war, and segregation camps were used to monitor men for infectious diseases before they were allowed to move further into the reinforcement system. The authorities were determined to prevent outbreaks of illness from spreading to front-line formations already under strain.
HOSPITALISED INFLUENZA NOVEMBER 1915
Unfortunately, Percy soon became ill. On 25 November 1916 he was admitted to the 26th General Hospital at Étaples suffering from influenza. Although often regarded as a minor illness today, influenza could be debilitating in the cramped and crowded military camps of the First World War. Patients were usually confined to bed, kept warm, given nourishing food and fluids, and carefully monitored for complications such as bronchitis or pneumonia. Fortunately, Percy appears to have recovered quickly and by 29 November was discharged and returned to Base Details.
ATTACHED TO 1ST ANZAC ENTRENCHING BATTALION DECEMBER 1916
Rather than being sent immediately to a tunnelling company, Percy was attached to the 1st ANZAC Entrenching Battalion on 11 December 1916. This was an important stage in the preparation of reinforcements. As the article notes, the Entrenching Battalion acted as an advanced training organisation where newly arrived men were gradually introduced to the realities of warfare. Working close behind the front line, they dug communication trenches, repaired roads, laid duckboards, carried engineering stores, strengthened defensive positions and undertook labouring tasks that were essential to the army's functioning.
For Percy, these ten or twenty days would have been his first real exposure to active operations. By day and night, he would have seen endless columns of troops moving to and from the trenches. The distant rumble of artillery became a constant background noise, while occasional shellfire served as a reminder that even rear-area work could be dangerous. The experience helped transform reinforcements from trainees into soldiers accustomed to the conditions of the Western Front before they joined their permanent units.
TAKEN ON STRENGTH DECEMBER 1916
Having completed this acclimatisation period, Percy was finally taken on strength by the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company on 31 December 1916. At last, he joined the specialist engineer formation for which he had trained since Australia. The company was engaged in the demanding and dangerous work of constructing deep dugouts, driving underground galleries, maintaining mines and shelters, and carrying out engineering projects vital to the Allied war effort. Unlike infantry battalions, tunnelling companies often worked both close to and behind the front line, undertaking highly skilled tasks that required endurance, technical knowledge and courage.
DENTAL CARE JANUARY 1917
His introduction to service with the company was briefly interrupted on 9 January 1917 when he was sent to the 47th Divisional Rest Station for treatment of dental caries. Dental problems were extremely common among soldiers, and untreated decay could quickly become serious in field conditions. Military dentists would have removed infected teeth where necessary, cleaned and treated cavities, and dealt with any associated pain or infection. Such treatment was important, as a soldier suffering from severe toothache could be almost as ineffective as one suffering from illness.
REJOINED UNIT JANUARY 1917
By 17 January 1917 Percy had rejoined the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company. After months of training in Australia and England, illness at Étaples, and a period of hard labour with the Entrenching Battalion, he was finally settled with the unit in which he would undertake the specialised and often hazardous underground work that had brought him across the world to the battlefields of France.
HOSPITALISED PYREXIA JANUARY 1917
Percy's long-awaited service with the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company lasted barely a few weeks before illness again intervened. On 25 January 1917 he reported sick and was admitted to the 47th Divisional Rest Station suffering from pyrexia, the medical term used for fever when the underlying cause was not yet fully known. Rest stations were located behind the fighting line and provided initial medical assessment for soldiers who had become ill or exhausted.
MYALGIA JANUARY 1917
When his condition failed to improve, Percy was transferred on 26 January to the 17th Casualty Clearing Station, where doctors diagnosed myalgia. The term literally means muscle pain, but during the First World War it was often used to describe a debilitating illness marked by fever, severe muscular aches, weakness and exhaustion. Such symptoms could be caused by influenza, respiratory infections, exposure, or the harsh living conditions experienced by troops in France during winter.
32ND STATIONARY HOSPITAL
The following day his condition was judged serious enough for evacuation farther from the front. He was conveyed by Ambulance Train No. 28 to the 32nd Stationary Hospital at Wimereux, near Boulogne, where he was recorded as suffering from severe myalgia. Stationary hospitals were large, well-equipped medical facilities intended for cases requiring longer treatment than could be provided at a Casualty Clearing Station. Here Percy would have received bed rest, warmth, nourishing food and medical supervision while doctors monitored his progress.
EVACUATION TO ENGLAND FEBRUARY 1917
The winter of 1916–1917 was one of the coldest experienced on the Western Front. Men lived in damp dugouts, worked in freezing mud and were frequently exposed to snow, rain and bitter winds. For a tunneller whose duties often involved strenuous labour underground followed by exposure to the winter weather above ground, illness could easily take hold.
After several weeks in hospital, the medical authorities concluded that Percy would recover better in England. On 15 February he embarked at Boulogne aboard the hospital ship St Denis and crossed the Channel. He was admitted to the Horton County of London War Hospital at Epsom suffering from rheumatism and bronchitis.
Bronchitis was a common complaint among soldiers. Constant exposure to damp conditions, coal smoke, dust and cold weather frequently led to inflammation of the bronchial passages, causing persistent coughing, chest pain and difficulty breathing. Rheumatism was a broad term used at the time for painful inflammatory conditions affecting muscles and joints. Military doctors often associated it with prolonged exposure to cold and wet conditions. Treatment generally consisted of prolonged rest, warmth, improved nutrition and medications designed to relieve pain and inflammation.
FURLOUGH & HOSPITAL APRIL MAY 1917
Percy's recovery was a lengthy one. After two months in hospital, he was discharged from Epsom on 15 April 1917 and granted furlough until 1 May. Such leave was intended to help convalescent soldiers regain their strength before returning to military duties. During this period, he was also treated through the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield, one of the principal Australian convalescent hospitals in England. Harefield specialised in helping recovering soldiers regain fitness through a combination of medical treatment, rest and graduated physical activity.
COMMAND POST
Even after leaving hospital, Percy was not fully recovered. Following another period of treatment and convalescence, he received further furlough on 17 May before reporting to No. 4 Command Depot at Wareham on 1 June. Command Depots acted as rehabilitation and retraining centres where recovering soldiers were assessed and gradually returned to military fitness.
HOSPITAL AT BULFORD THEN COMMAND POST JULY 1917
Yet on the very day he arrived at Wareham he was again admitted to hospital at Bulford. The records do not specify the reason, but the admission suggests that the medical authorities still had concerns regarding his health. He remained under treatment for thirty-eight days before finally marching into No. 1 Command Depot at Perham Downs on 9 July 1917.
By this stage Percy had spent almost six months moving through hospitals, convalescent facilities and command depots rather than serving with his unit in France. The repeated illnesses had interrupted what should have been his first period of active service with the tunnellers.
AUGUST 1917 TO FEBRUARY 1918
After finally overcoming the succession of illnesses that had plagued him throughout 1917, Percy returned to France and rejoined the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company. From August 1917 until early February 1918 he appears to have remained continuously with the company, and this was likely the longest uninterrupted period of active service he experienced during the war.
The 1st Australian Tunnelling Company was by this stage heavily engaged in engineering operations along the Western Front. While the great mining battles of earlier years were largely over, the tunnellers remained indispensable. Percy and his comrades would have been involved in excavating deep dugouts capable of sheltering hundreds of troops from artillery fire, constructing underground headquarters, driving subways that allowed troops to move forward under cover, maintaining existing tunnel systems, installing drainage works and carrying out a multitude of engineering projects close behind the lines. The work was physically exhausting, carried out in darkness, mud and often dangerous conditions. Tunnel collapses, enemy shellfire and the ever-present risk of gas were occupational hazards. For a sapper, a typical day might involve many hours underground followed by labouring duties above ground.
HOSPITALISATION ORCHITIS FEBRUARY 1918
On 4 February 1918, however, Percy's health troubles resurfaced. He was admitted to the Military Hospital at Sutton Veny suffering from complications arising from orchitis, an inflammation of the testicle usually caused by infection. The condition could be extremely painful and frequently required prolonged rest. The subsequent transfer to Bulford for treatment of venereal disease suggests that military doctors believed the orchitis was linked to an underlying venereal infection, a recognised complication at the time.
Treatment in 1918 was lengthy and often uncomfortable. Before the development of antibiotics, patients were treated with rest, antiseptic preparations, irrigations and, in the case of syphilis, arsenic-based medications such as Salvarsan. Recovery could take weeks or months, and soldiers were generally retained under close medical supervision before being declared fit for duty.
Following treatment, Percy was returned on 19 February to the Australian Provost establishment at Tidworth. As on the previous occasion, this likely represented an administrative holding point while awaiting further instructions, medical clearance or transportation.
The records then become comparatively quiet. On 24 July 1918 he was admitted to hospital once more, although no diagnosis survives in the service record. Whatever the complaint, it was apparently not serious, as he returned to duty on 1 August.
HOSPITALISATION APPENDICITIS SEPTEMBER 1918
Only a month later, on 4 September, Percy was admitted again to the Military Hospital at Sutton Veny, this time suffering from appendicitis. In the era before modern antibiotics, appendicitis was treated very seriously because of the risk of rupture and life-threatening infection. Depending on the severity of the condition, treatment might involve surgery or prolonged observation and bed rest. Either way, it was another setback for a man whose service had been marked by recurring health problems.
MEDICAL BOARD OCTOBER 1918
By October 1918 the medical authorities had reached a conclusion regarding Percy's future. On 23 October he appeared before a Medical Board at No. 2 Command Depot, Wyke Regis, near Weymouth. The board classified him as C.C.II (Class C2), suffering from debility. This classification meant he was considered permanently unfit for general military service and, at least temporarily, unfit even for home service duties. "Debility" was a broad term encompassing chronic weakness, diminished physical capacity and the cumulative effects of repeated illness. Looking at his record, it is not difficult to see why the board reached that decision. Since arriving in Europe, he had endured influenza, severe myalgia, rheumatism, bronchitis, venereal disease, orchitis and appendicitis, with repeated hospital admissions interrupting his service.
GOING HOME NOVEMBER 1918
The decision meant that Percy's war was over. On 1 November 1918 he embarked at Devonport aboard HMAT Gaika for the voyage home to Australia. Unlike troopships carrying healthy soldiers outward to war, the return transports often carried large numbers of sick and medically unfit men. His allocated berth was a hammock, slung among many others in the troop decks.
During the voyage, one of the most momentous events of the twentieth century occurred. On 11 November 1918, somewhere between England and Australia, news reached the ship that an armistice had been signed and the fighting had ceased. One can only imagine the reaction aboard. For many of the wounded and invalided soldiers, the announcement brought immense relief. Percy had spent much of his war battling illness rather than the enemy, but he would nevertheless have known that the conflict which had dominated the previous four years had finally ended.
A medical report dated 30 November noted that Percy complained of intermittent pain along the costal margin—the lower edge of the ribcage. He reported suffering several attacks during the voyage and had attended sick parade once. The examining medical officer observed that the pain did not appear related to food intake, suggesting an ongoing but poorly defined complaint. Such lingering symptoms were common among men who had endured years of illness, stress and repeated hospitalisations.
When Gaika finally docked in Melbourne on 28 December 1918, Percy was once again on Australian soil after more than two and a half years overseas. From Melbourne he would almost certainly have travelled home by rail. The Commonwealth arranged railway warrants for returning soldiers, allowing them to continue their journey to their home states and districts. After years spent in camps, hospitals, tunnels and troopships, Percy would have boarded a train carrying him back through the Australian countryside toward family, familiar surroundings and the prospect of rebuilding a life interrupted by war.
Percy's military career was not marked by famous battles or decorations. Instead, his service tells another important story of the Great War—the experience of the soldier whose greatest enemy became illness. Despite repeated setbacks, he continually returned to duty whenever his health permitted. His record reflects determination and resilience in the face of persistent physical hardship, and by the time he stepped from the train at home, he had earned his place among the thousands of Australians whose wartime sacrifices were measured not only in wounds received in battle, but also in the long struggle against sickness and disability.
CLOTHING AND NECESSITIES GIVEN TO SOLDIERS FOR SOLDIERS PROCEEDING TO AUSTRALIA FOR DEMOBILISATION
Badges Hat Badges Collar (2) Bags kit universal
Bags kit sea Braces (pair) Brush, shaving
Brush, tooth Breeches M.S (Military service)
Cap comforter (warm cap) Comb, hair
Disc identity with cord Drawers (2 pairs)
Great Coat Hat, Khaki fur Hat, white
Holdall Housewife (compact sewing kit)
Jackets Cardigan Jackets S.D (service dress)
Leggings 1 pair Laces, leather 1 pair
Puggarees, small (a traditional Indian head wrap, worn in warm conditions
Puttees, 1 pair (cloth bandages worn by soldiers, to provide support and protection
for the lower leg)
Razor Shirts, flannel (2) Socks, 3 pairs
Singlets (2)
Strap chin Soap piece Suit, working
Towels, hand (2)
Titles “Australia” (4)- Australian soldiers and non-commissioned officers wore an “Australia” title at the base of their shoulder straps. Each serving soldier also wore unit titles above this which indicated the units to which they belonged
AFTER THE WAR
In 1925 Percy was a labourer living in Caboolture, Qld and in 1936 their residence was Palm Ave, Sandgate Brisbane with his occupation as a miner
DEATH AND BURIAL
Percy died on 15th December 1947, aged 68 years. His funeral was held on 17th December and he is buried in Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane, Plot ANZ-7-80-12
For his service Percy was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal and his name is recorded on the Southport Shire Council Roll of Honour & the Southport War Memorial
If you have any additional information about this individual, we invite you to email us at rsl@msmc.org.au.
Memorial Location
Southport Shire Council Roll of Honour & the Southport War Memorial
Buried Location
Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane, Plot ANZ-7-80-12
