EVANS, Percival H J T

Percival Evans was born at Bewdley and came to live at 54 Hagley Road, Stourbridge, with his mother, Mary. He enlisted in the local Territorials and was posted in 1917 to the 2/8th Battalion of the Worcesters. This battalion in the 61st Division had a very active existence from the Battle of the Somme to the Advance to Victory. In March 1918 it had to face the onslaught of the first German Spring offensive in the Battle of St. Quentin. On the 21st they were in outposts facing the German lines outside the town and were overwhelmed by the attack. The Battalion War Diary recorded the number of missing as over 550. Most of these became prisoners of war and were taken to POW camps in Germany. Lance Corporal Percival Evans was among them and was taken to Chemnitz. He died in the camp on the 6th November 1918 and is buried in Berlin South Western Cemetery (VIII B 5). He was 22 years of age and is commemorated on the Stourbridge and St. Thomas's church Memorials.