Reeve, Percy

Private Percy Reeve

Percy was born at Guilden Morden, Cambridgeshire on 16 April 1895, the fourth son of James and Sarah (nee Manning) Reeve. He was a pupil at the Merchant Taylors School in Ashwell.

Percy enlisted at Bedford in early 1914 with the 1^st Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment, Regimental Number 10160. He was sent to the Western Front on 16 August 1914. He served at the Western European Theatre of War, France and Flanders and was killed in action on 26 October 1914.

Percy was awarded the 1914 Star, the Victory Medal and the British War Medal.

He is commemorated on the Richebourg-l’Avoue, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France Memorial and on the Ashwell War Memorial. Although he was a pupil of the Merchant Taylors School in Ashwell he is not on their Roll of Honour.

Before going to war he was in domestic service.

Percy’s brother, Albert, served with the 1^st Hertfordshire and survived the War but died in an accident on the railway line at Letchworth on 9 July 1914.

From the Royston Crow 1914 December: On the 11th December a handsomely framed engraved Roll of Honour of Old Boys of the Merchant Taylors School serving their King and Country in the war was unveiled. ‘This excited among the Scholars much interest and a patriotic spirit and many were the glances at the list of names some of whom were the Fathers and Brothers of the Boys. They numbered 64 boys in all who had volunteered for active service. Two on the list – Horace Bryant and Percy Reeve – had died the death of heroes in trying to save England from the ravages of the “Cultural Hun” being killed in action in the retreat from Mons.’ Only a week later there were more additions to the list. The new volunteers were Frederick Pack, Clem Pack, Horace Reeve, Jack Harman, John Winter and Albert Amtman. However there was also news of another old boy, George Waldock, that had been killed in action but there was no further information. There are two members of the Waldock family on the War memorial, Harry W.G. Waldock and Herbert George Waldock either could have been familiarly called ‘George’