SCROOP, Percy George
| Service Number: | 1601 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 August 1915, Oaklands, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 9th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Cherry Gardens, South Australia, 9 October 1894 |
| Home Town: | Clarendon, Onkaparinga, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Cherry Gardens Public School, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Sawyer |
| Died: | Died of Illness (POW of Turkey - dysentery), Angora, Turkey, 28 December 1916, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery Angora Memorial No. 148, |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Cherry Gardens Uniting Church WW1 Memorial Stained Glass Window, Cherry Gardens WW1 Roll of Honour, Clarendon Methodist Church and Sunday School Honour Board, Coromandel Valley WW1 Memorial and Gardens |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1601, Oaklands, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Nov 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1601, 9th Light Horse Regiment, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: '' | |
| 18 Nov 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1601, 9th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Geelong, Adelaide | |
| 9 Aug 1916: | Imprisoned | |
| 28 Dec 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 1601, 9th Light Horse Regiment, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1601 awm_unit: 9 Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1916-12-28 |
Help us honour Percy George Scroop's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
His parents were James and Mary Scroop and they were living in Coromandel Valley when Percy enlisted however Percy was born in Cherry Gardens. Percy was 21 years and 10 months old when he enlisted and was a brown haired, blue eyed young man with a “fair” complexion whose occupation was a Lawyer. He was 5ft 9ins tall and weighed 156lbs. On his medical history it was noted that Percy had good eyesight and two vaccination scars on his left arm. His teeth were in good condition. Percy’s religious denomination was Methodist. Percy embarked for the war on 12th November 1915 on the “Geelong” from Port Adelaide and sailed direct to the Suez disembarking and being taken on strength with the 9th Lighthorse Regiment on the 28th December 1915 at Heliopolis.
On the 27th February he was promoted to Lance Corporal and marched out to Serapeum. He was taken prisoner of war by the Turks on 9th August 1916 in the Canal (Suez) zone. The Turks transferred him Afion-KaraHissar to Angola around the 2nd October 1916. Percy died on 28th December 1916 of Dysentery. He had been overseas for exactly one year. A repatriated prisoner of war reported that a number of Australians including Percy died of Dysentery during a 6 mile march while scantily clad through snow and were buried along the road side where they fell. This report was contrary to what the Military had told his parents initially. They reported that he was buried at the Catholic Cemetery in Angora. Many years after the end of the war the Commonwealth Grave Commission finally established that Percy’s body could not be found and decided to erect a Kipling Memorial at the Baghdad Cemetery for Percy and 264 other soldiers that perished and have no known grave. Separate permanent headstones were to be erected for each soldier as well as the memorial. On the memorial the following inscription was to be added:
To the memory of these 265 soldiers and sailors of the
British Empire who died as Prisoners of War and were
buried at the time at the cemetery of Angora, Ada Bazer
Bozanti, Islahie, Hisibin but whose graves are now lost.
“Their Glory Shall Not Be Blotted Out”
Percy’s recovered personal effects were a Money belt, razor, 2 pipes in a case, cob pipe, 3 handkerchiefs, wallet containing 1 comb, 1 metal brooch, 1 coin testament, notebook in leather case, musketry book, wrist watch in a case, shaving brush, 2 pocket knives, 2 buttons, a bullet, a fork, 2 badges, notepaper, 2 photos, notebook, a fly veil, Arabic book, programme of sports, and these were returned to his parents back in Australia.
https://www.cherrychatter.org.au/Fallen%20Heroes%20of%20Cherry%20Gardens.pdf
Biography
Next of kin Mother, Mrs. Mary Scroop, Coromandell, Valley, South Australia
Died of disease whilst a Prisoner of War
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