Private Percy Carthy

1894 - 1916  (21 years)

• Name	Percy Carthy
  Prefix	Private
  Residence	1814	WW1   [1]
  	WW1, Private, 18th Battalion
  Born	9 Oct 1894	Ashton under Lyne, , Lancashire, England   [2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  FindAGrave	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56675373
  Interesting	tragedy, accident
  Military	WW1
  		Carthy,Percy-WW1.jpg
  Military	1914	WW1   [3]
  	WW1, 18th Regiment, Service #54210
  Misfortune	killed in war
  Residence	, England   [1]
  Residence	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Residence	39 Waterloo St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-58379
  Died	15 Sep 1916	Courcelette, , Picardie, France   [4]
  Buried	Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Vimy, , Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
  Person ID	I58379	Generations
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2024

  
  

  Father	Joseph Carthy,   b. 11 Dec 1869, Manchester, , Lancashire, England ,   d. 1960  (Age 90 years)
  Mother	Harriet Boothby Hulme,   b. 4 Jul 1868, , Lancashire, England ,   d. 3 Nov 1947, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 79 years)
  Married	1891	, England
  Family ID	F297484	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Unimaginable grief' when two mothers lose four sons Ten local soldiers were killed 100 years ago, capturing a ruined French village on the Western Front. It was among the bloodiest days this community endured in the First World War and it happened Sept. 15, 1916, at the Somme battlefield. The telegrams reached home three weeks later. Two mothers suffered the most. Harriet Carthy learned that her son Percy was killed in action. That's after his brother Eric was killed in an earlier skirmish. Annie McNicol learned that her son James was killed in action. That's after his brother Alexander died of his wounds following an earlier skirmish. Percy and James climbed out of the trenches at 6: 24 a.m. They were in the first wave to attack the German front line, aiming for the ruins of Courcelette. The men of their 18th infantry battalion advanced under shrapnel and bullets, inching forward on their bellies, using corpses as cover, after the enemy caught them in the open in no man's land. Percy, James, and more than 90 comrades were killed. James, 22, checked train cars before he enlisted. He was a cheerful man who played in the battalion band. "I knew there was something wrong," Annie said, absorbing the terrible news. She hadn't received a letter from her son in three weeks. Percy, 21, was a labourer. The Kitchener News Record consoled his mother by lauding her dead sons as heroes: "Their example inculcated by the spirit of manhood will not die." Later, a stranger wrote to say that Percy saved her brother's life in a different battle. "I hope Mrs. Carthy that you, your husband and your family in your great loss will find a little consolation in knowing what a great hero your son was."... 'Unimaginable grief' when two mothers lose four sons. (2016). Therecord.com. Retrieved 15 September 2016, from https://www.therecord.com/news-story/6858427--unimaginable-grief-when-two-mothers-lose-four-sons/

  
  

• Sources

  [S1890] Military - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Kitchener Public Library WW1 Soldiers Card Index Soldier Information Cards - World War One. [S157] Military - Canada - World War I - Attestation papers. Percy Carthy Birth Date: 9 Oct 1894 Birth Location: Ashton, Underline, England Relative: Harriett Beathby Carthy 39 Waterloo St., Berlin, Ontario Relationship: Mother Regiment Number: 7295 [S157] Military - Canada - World War I - Attestation papers. [S2443] Canada, War Graves Registers (Circumstances of Casualty), 1914-1948. Percy Carthy Death Date: 15 Sep 1916 Rank: Private Unit: 18th Battalion Service number: 54210

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 9 Oct 1894 - Ashton under Lyne, , Lancashire, England Residence - - , England Residence - - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 15 Sep 1916 - Courcelette, , Picardie, France Buried - - Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Vimy, , Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France  = Link to Google Earth