MITCHELL, Percy
| Service Number: | 485 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 13 April 1915, An original member of B Company |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 26th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Beaudesert, Queensland, Australia, 4 October 1897 |
| Home Town: | Beaudesert, Scenic Rim, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Machinist |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 14 November 1916, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
Warlencourt British Cemetery Plot V, Row B, Grave No. 17. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Beaudesert War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 13 Apr 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 485, 26th Infantry Battalion, An original member of B Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 485, 26th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 24 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 485, 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Brisbane |
Help us honour Percy Mitchell's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Percy Mitchell was only 17 and a half years of age when he enlisted in 1915. He served on Gallipoli with the 26th Battalion from September 1915 until the evacuation.
His older brother, 2631 Pte. Norman Mitchell 49th Battalion AIF was killed in action near Mouquet Farm on 15 August 1916, aged 21. They were the sons of Joseph and Julia Mitchell of Running Creek, near Beaudesert, Queensland.
A letter from a mate, written to his parents, was published in the Beaudesert Times. “He was in B Company, and was a well set up fellow of 21 or 22. On 14th November we attached early in the morning beyond Flers. Where Mitchell and I were we had a sniper's post in front of us, and at this point we could not reach the German trench and had to retire. Mitchell was near me when we started back, but I heard a shell coming and dropped down and he went on. I got wounded and did not get in till 11 a.m. He had not got back and when at the C.C.S. I asked after him, one of our lads told me that he had been hit and had fallen. The Germans never came outside their trench, so there was no possibility of him being a prisoner. I had to crawl flat on my body on my way in. It was certain death to raise yourself at all.”
Percy Mitchell’s body was found on the battlefield at Flers almost six months later, and he at least received a decent burial. His identity disc and letters found at the time were returned to his family.
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Percy Mitchell was only 17 and a half years of age when he enlisted in 1915. He served on Gallipoli with the 26th Battalion from September 1915 until the evacuation.
His older brother, 2631 Pte. Norman Mitchell 49th Battalion AIF was killed in action near Mouquet Farm on 15 August 1916, aged 21. They were the sons of Joseph and Julia Mitchell of Running Creek, near Beaudesert, Queensland.
A letter from a mate, written to his parents, was published in the Beaudesert Times. “He was in B Company, and was a well set up fellow of 21 or 22. On 14th November we attached early in the morning beyond Flers. Where Mitchell and I were we had a sniper's post in front of us, and at this point we could not reach the German trench and had to retire. Mitchell was near me when we started back, but I heard a shell coming and dropped down and he went on. I got wounded and did not get in till 11 a.m. He had not got back and when at the C.C.S. I asked after him, one of our lads told me that he had been hit and had fallen. The Germans never came outside their trench, so there was no possibility of him being a prisoner. I had to crawl flat on my body on my way in. It was certain death to raise yourself at all.”
Percy Mitchell’s body was found on the battlefield at Flers almost six months later, and he at least received a decent burial. His identity disc and letters found at the time were returned to his family.
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